Why It Matters and What You Can Expect from Us by Nadyne McKie, Recovery Focussed Therapist
“Trauma informed approaches in healthcare settings create safe environments that enable patients to feel heard, respected, and empowered which can directly improve clinical outcomes, and patient engagement”
BMJ 2020;371:m4073
“Trauma-informed care: recognising and responding to trauma in healthcare settings”
At The Long Covid Clinic, we understand that recovering from Long Covid isn’t just about physical symptoms. It’s about how your whole system, body, mind, and nervous system, has been impacted. For many people, the illness itself has been traumatic. Add to that the stress of not being believed, misdiagnosed, or told it’s all in your head, and you’re often left feeling frightened, exhausted, and alone.
That’s why trauma-informed care is not an optional extra here – it’s central to everything we do.
Our Values: Compassion. Validation. Understanding.
We believe:
- Compassion means you are met with kindness, not judgement.
- Validation means your experience is taken seriously, regardless of what test results say.
- Understanding means we recognise that your nervous system, your emotions, and your history all matter when it comes to recovery.
What Is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-informed care simply means we understand that many of our patients are living with the effects of trauma, whether from the pandemic, medical dismissal, life experiences, or simply the strain of chronic illness.
It means we don’t assume what’s wrong or rush to fix you. Instead, we slow down, listen, and work with you, not on you.
It also means we:
- Prioritise safety, both emotional and physical.
- Invite collaboration rather than impose treatment plans.
- Offer choice at every step.
- Notice what might feel overwhelming and go gently.
- Regulate ourselves, so we can help regulate you.
Why Trauma-Informed Care Helps
Many of our clients arrive carrying not just Long Covid, but a sense of being dismissed, shamed, or overwhelmed by previous healthcare experiences. This can understandably create nervous system distress: fight, flight, freeze, or total shutdown.
If you’ve ever found yourself:
- Struggling to explain your symptoms…
- Feeling panicked in appointments…
- Not being able to ‘comply’ with treatment plans…
- Blaming yourself for being ‘difficult’ or ‘not recovering fast enough’…
…please know that none of this means you’re failing. It means your system is doing its best to survive in a world that hasn’t always treated it kindly.
When care is trauma-informed, the nervous system can begin to settle. And from there, healing becomes more possible.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Here are a few examples of how trauma-informed care shows up in our clinic:
| Instead of this… | You can expect this… |
| “There’s nothing wrong with you” | “Even though tests are unclear, your experience is real, and we believe you.” |
| Rigid advice with no input | Collaborative conversations where your voice matters |
| Long checklists of to-dos | A gentle pace, with options that respect your capacity |
| Focus only on symptoms | A whole-person view, including grief, identity loss, and nervous system health |
| “You just need to try harder” | “We see how much effort you’re already putting in, let’s find what supports you.” |
When Tools Feel Too Much
We also apply trauma-informed thinking to the way we use tools, like heart rate monitors, symptom tracking, or pacing diaries.
While these tools can be useful, they can also trigger anxiety or perfectionism, and so we approach them gently:
- Tools as guides, not rules
- Curiosity over control
- Practice over perfection
- Self-compassion, always
In Summary: What You Can Expect from Us
- A calm, non-judgemental space
- Language that uplifts and respects your reality
- Clear information, explained gently
- Permission to feel what you feel
- Flexible plans that meet you where you are
- Choice, collaboration, and a sense of agency
- A team that regulates our own nervous systems so we can support yours
Final Words
Healing from Long COVID is hard enough. You shouldn’t have to fight to be believed or understood along the way.
Our clinic is here to offer care that honours the full complexity of what you’re going through: body, mind, and story. Because we know that when people feel safe, heard, and validated, real recovery can begin.
