Therapy for long COVID
Long COVID can turn weeks of illness into months of exhaustion, brain fog, dizziness, and pain. Tests may come back normal while you still feel unwell, and people may dismiss your symptoms as stress or anxiety. In Canada, many people experience long lasting effects after infection and face fear, grief, and uncertainty about recovery. The emotional toll is heavy as you manage physical symptoms, medical frustration, isolation, and changes to work or daily life. Therapy helps you navigate this complex condition by supporting both your emotional wellbeing and the practical challenges of living with symptoms that come and go.
Understanding long COVID in Canada
The scope of long COVID
Long COVID affects a significant number of Canadians. According to thePublic Health Agency of Canada, about 15 % of adults who had COVID-19 continue to experience symptoms for three months or longer. Since millions of Canadians have been infected since 2020, many adults, children, and families are living with persistent symptoms. Long COVID is most common among adults aged 35 to 69 and appears more frequently in women, though anyone can be affected. Many individuals had mild initial infections. Indigenous communities have also experienced disproportionate impacts. The scale of long COVID has created new challenges for health systems across the country.
Long COVID in Canada
Sources:Public Health Agency of CanadaandStatistics Canada – Longer-term symptoms among adults.
The bewildering array of symptoms
Long COVID can affect almost every part of the body. Common symptoms include deep fatigue, post exertional crashes, brain fog, memory issues, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, headaches, muscle and joint pain, sleep problems, and changes in taste or smell. Many people also experience dysautonomia, which affects heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. Symptoms often change from day to day. You may feel capable one day and unable to function the next, which makes planning difficult and can lead others to doubt your illness.
Medical uncertainty and dismissal
Long COVID is real and disabling, yet many people have normal test results. This creates a painful gap between what you feel and what the medical system can detect. Some providers dismiss symptoms as anxiety, while others want to help but have limited tools. Long COVID clinics exist in some areas but have long waitlists. Many people see multiple specialists before receiving validation. This uncertainty increases stress and leaves you managing serious symptoms without clear answers or treatment paths.
The devastating impact of long COVID
Loss of function and independence
Long COVID can make everyday tasks overwhelming. Fatigue, crashes, and brain fog can limit work, school, parenting, and basic self care. Many people reduce hours, change jobs, or stop working altogether. From the outside you may look fine, but inside you are struggling to get through the day.
Identity crisis and grief
Losing abilities you once relied on can shatter your sense of self. Activities, roles, and routines that defined you may no longer be possible. The grief is deep and ongoing as you face daily reminders of what you have lost while still dealing with symptoms.
Gaslighting and disbelief
Because symptoms are invisible and tests often appear normal, many people face skepticism from providers, employers, family, or friends. Being told your symptoms are stress or not real is deeply painful and can lead you to doubt your own experience. This dismissal adds trauma to an already difficult condition.
Financial devastation and isolation
Many people with long COVID face income loss, denied benefits, and ongoing medical costs. At the same time, social connection becomes harder as symptoms make plans difficult and friendships fade. The result is profound isolation and financial strain during a time when support is most needed.
How therapy helps with long COVID
Why long COVID therapy matters
Long COVID affects both your body and your emotional wellbeing. A therapist who understands chronic and post viral conditions knows your symptoms are real and that medical dismissal can be traumatic. Therapy does not cure long COVID, but it can ease distress, improve coping, and help you navigate daily challenges. It provides validation, tools for managing symptoms and emotions, support for trauma from gaslighting, and guidance in adapting to a life that has changed. Research from similar conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome shows that psychological support can improve functioning and quality of life when used as part of a broader care plan.
What long COVID therapy addresses
Therapy helps you process grief for the health and life you lost, manage depression and anxiety, and cope with symptoms that flare unpredictably. You learn pacing strategies to reduce crashes, ways to validate your experience after medical dismissal, and skills for living with uncertainty about recovery. Therapy also supports trauma from acute illness or gaslighting, helps you communicate with healthcare providers and loved ones, and guides you in finding meaning and connection despite ongoing limitations.
Therapeutic approaches for long COVID
Acceptance and commitment therapy
ACT helps you live meaningfully even when symptoms continue. You learn to accept what cannot be changed, including uncertainty about recovery, while taking steps that reflect your values. Instead of waiting to feel better, ACT helps you engage in life within your limits. Research on chronic conditions supports these benefits, as shown in the ACT for chronic conditions.
Pacing and energy management
Pacing helps you prevent post exertional crashes by working within your energy limits. You learn to notice early signs of overexertion, break tasks into smaller steps, and rest before symptoms worsen. This is not graded exercise. It respects your condition and reduces the frequency and intensity of symptom flares.
Trauma informed care
Many people with long COVID carry trauma from acute illness, medical dismissal, or repeated crashes. Trauma informed therapy helps you process these events, manage nervous system responses, and rebuild a sense of safety in your body. Approaches like EMDR may be helpful for specific traumatic memories.
Grief counselling and adjustment
Long COVID brings deep and ongoing loss. Grief counselling helps you acknowledge lost abilities and roles, express sadness and anger, and build a meaningful life within your limits. The goal is not to get over long COVID but to carry the grief while still engaging with what matters.
Your therapy journey with long COVID
Validation and assessment
Early therapy focuses on understanding your symptoms, your acute illness, your medical experiences, and how long COVID affects your daily life. Your therapist screens for depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief while offering something many people have not received elsewhere: clear validation that your symptoms are real and your struggle is legitimate. This validation alone often brings relief and begins rebuilding trust.
Developing coping strategies
Therapy then focuses on practical and emotional skills. You learn pacing to reduce crashes, cognitive tools for managing uncertainty, mindfulness for symptom flare ups, and communication strategies for healthcare visits and relationships. You also work through grief, trauma responses, and the challenge of adapting your identity to new limits. Sessions are flexible to match your energy.
Ongoing adaptation
Because long COVID fluctuates, therapy often continues on an as needed basis. You may reduce sessions during stable periods and return when symptoms change or setbacks occur. Some people improve over time, while others benefit from long-term support. Your therapist stays with you through each stage of recovery, adaptation, and uncertainty.
Find a therapist for long COVID
Choosing the right therapist matters. Each province in Canada has its own regulations, which is why working with a recognized professional can make a real difference in your care. Stellocare takes the uncertainty out of the process by listing only verified therapists you can trust.
The right therapist for you
No therapists found with these specialties in Ontario.
Try selecting a different province.Canadian resources and self-management strategies
Canadian long COVID support
Long COVID clinics across Canada
Many provinces have established specialized long COVID clinics offering multidisciplinary assessment and treatment. These clinics typically include physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and mental health professionals. Waitlists vary by location. Access usually requires physician referral. Check with your provincial health authority for clinic locations and referral processes.
COVID Long-Haulers Support Group Canada
Patient-led organization providing peer support, information sharing, and advocacy for Canadians with long COVID. Offers online support groups, educational resources, and connection with others experiencing similar challenges. Valuable for reducing isolation and accessing practical management strategies from people living with the condition.
Disability benefits and financial support
If long COVID prevents you from working, you may qualify for Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits or provincial disability programs. Employment Insurance sickness benefits provide temporary support. Application processes are complex and often require medical documentation. Consider working with a disability advocate or lawyer if initially denied. Some non-profits offer assistance with applications.
Daily management strategies
Mastering pacing to prevent crashes
- Identify your baseline: determine what activity level you can sustain without triggering post-exertional malaise. Stay well within this limit rather than pushing to it.
- Use the 50% rule: when planning activities, estimate required energy and only do 50%. This builds buffer preventing crashes.
- Rest proactively: schedule rest periods before feeling exhausted. Stopping before symptoms worsen prevents severe crashes requiring days of recovery.
- Track patterns: keep symptom journal noting activities, rest, and symptom changes. This reveals personal triggers and optimal pacing strategies.
Managing the emotional burden
- Validate your own experience: your symptoms are real regardless of test results or others' beliefs. Trust your body's signals.
- Allow grief without guilt: sadness, anger, and frustration about illness are normal. These emotions don't mean you're giving up or being negative.
- Connect with understanding people: online or in-person support groups with other long COVID patients provide validation and practical advice. Shared experience reduces isolation.
- Set boundaries around medical dismissal: if providers dismiss your symptoms, seek different care. You deserve healthcare that takes your condition seriously.
Living with uncertainty
- Focus on today: uncertainty about recovery is maddening. When possible, focus on managing today rather than catastrophizing about permanent disability or waiting for cure before living.
- Celebrate small improvements: recovery may be gradual and non-linear. Notice and acknowledge small gains even when overall progress feels slow.
- Maintain hope without attachment: stay open to improvement while building meaningful life within current limitations. Hope for recovery shouldn't prevent living now.
- Accept changed timeline: recovery may take months or years. Accepting this reality reduces frustration from unrealistic expectations while maintaining commitment to management.
Questions about therapy for long COVID
Will therapy cure my long COVID symptoms
Therapy does not cure long COVID, but it can make daily life more manageable. It helps reduce distress, improve coping, and support your quality of life while you navigate a complex medical condition. Better mental health often makes symptom management easier, but this does not mean symptoms are psychological. Therapy is one part of a broader care plan that includes medical treatment and pacing.
How is long COVID therapy different from regular depression or anxiety treatment
Long COVID therapy addresses the realities of living with a fluctuating, poorly understood illness. Your therapist understands post exertional crashes, grief for lost health, trauma from dismissal, and the emotional strain of ongoing symptoms. Traditional therapy may not consider these illness specific factors. Long COVID therapy integrates pacing, medical trauma awareness, and chronic illness support.
What if I'm too sick to attend regular therapy sessions
Virtual therapy is often ideal for long COVID. You can attend from home and avoid energy draining travel. Many therapists offer flexible scheduling, shorter sessions, and understanding about cancellations during symptom flares. Therapy should adapt to your condition, not add pressure.
Will people think my long COVID is just anxiety if I see a therapist
Seeking therapy does not mean your illness is psychological. It means you are caring for your whole wellbeing while managing a real physical condition. Long COVID affects both body and mind. If someone uses your therapy to dismiss your symptoms, that reflects their misunderstanding, not your reality.
Related concerns
References
- Davis, H. E., McCorkell, L., Vogel, J. M., & Topol, E. J. (2023). Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 21(3), 133-146. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2
- Tran, V. T., Porcher, R., Pane, I., & Ravaud, P. (2022). Course of post COVID-19 disease symptoms over time. Nature Communications, 13, 1163. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29513-z
- Premraj, L., Kannapadi, N. V., Briggs, J., et al. (2022). Mid and long-term neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations of post-COVID-19 syndrome. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 434, 120162.
- Bai, F., Tomasoni, D., Falcinella, C., et al. (2022). Female gender is associated with long COVID syndrome. Journal of Infection, 84(2), 261-265.
- Graham, E. L., Clark, J. R., Orban, Z. S., et al. (2021). Persistent neurologic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in non-hospitalized COVID-19 long haulers. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 8(5), 1073-1085.
- Dettmann, L. M., Krueger, J., & Dettmann, L. A. (2021). Acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic illness. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 8, 204-221. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6174685/
- Jason, L. A., & Dorri, J. A. (2023). ME/CFS and post-exertional malaise among patients with long COVID. Neurology International, 15(1), 1-11.
About Stellocare
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Sze Nga Cecilia Au Yeung
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Harpreet Sahota
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Emily Hiram
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Abby Molloy
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) (ON)
Sze Nga Cecilia Au Yeung
Registered Social Worker (ON)
Taylor Nichol
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) (ON)
Chelsea Jackson
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Joseph Bottros
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Carol Ma
Registered Social Worker (ON)
Asta Chan
Registered Social Worker (ON)
Mat Dean
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Ivana Di Cosola
Registered Social Worker (ON)
Melissa Recine
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Melodi Laframboise
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Jennica Campbell
Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (BC)
Renée LaJoie
Counselling Therapist (AB)
Jessica Maronski
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Saara Kanji
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) (ON)
Raluca Petridis
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Jessica Bagiamis
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Katherine Collins
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) (ON)
Harpreet Sahota
Registered Social Worker (ON)
Emily Hiram
Registered Psychotherapist (ON)
Abby Molloy
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) (ON)