Long Covid
When thinking about possible treatments for Long Covid, opera might not be the first thing to spring to the occupational therapist’ s mind. Whether we are opera fans or not, we might wonder what on earth [ it has ] to do with treating a serious long-term condition …” rote, although song sheets are available on the participant hub, so there is no need to try and remember lyrics or take notes.
Long Covid
When thinking about possible treatments for Long Covid, opera might not be the first thing to spring to the occupational therapist’ s mind. Whether we are opera fans or not, we might wonder what on earth [ it has ] to do with treating a serious long-term condition …” rote, although song sheets are available on the participant hub, so there is no need to try and remember lyrics or take notes.
The selected songs are often curiously appropriate as an approach to Long Covid; life-affirming, lyrical and calming, although sometimes with a note of sadness and loss in the backstories.
There are also playlists and videos of a wide variety of songs, including some more traditionally operatic ones, available on the participant hub. This open and inclusive approach chimes in well with RCOT’ s recent drive to greater inclusivity and access to healthcare.
Given that this is a six-week, self-help, skillsbased course, and not an ongoing relational therapy group, the sessions are conducted with great therapeutic skill and sensitivity to the ongoing trauma that participants are experiencing.
And given that it takes place on Zoom, it feels surprisingly‘ real’ and occasionally takes advantage of the medium to put participants more at ease – when you are singing by yourself in a room into a muted computer, you may feel silly – you are unlikely to be socially embarrassed.
There is some real group bonding. I, for one, felt genuine sadness when the group came to an end. Luckily, group members are not only able to access the participant hub indefinitely to remind themselves of the songs and exercises, but can join in ongoing‘ twilight’ group sessions held once a week and open to all who have completed the programme.
The thoroughness with which the positive aspects of Zoom-only sessions have been integrated with a web-based resource and ongoing digital support will be of interest to occupational therapists keen to use such technologies in their own services.
Throughout the programme runs a constant thread, directing and redirecting attention back to breathing and to awareness of the moment. On a personal level, I found this extremely helpful, even though I would not have said that I had major problems with breathing.
We can so easily forget how fundamental breathing is. I now use some of the exercises daily and most of the others as and when I need to. Participating has made me reflect more widely on how many of my pre-Covid hobbies, such as swimming, long distance walking and oboe-playing, are built on the foundation of wellregulated breathing. Not being able to do them has left a gap I didn’ t even notice until now.
It is notoriously hard to prove the effectiveness of such interventions for poorly understood longterm conditions as Long Covid, but my strong subjective impression is that this has helped me quite considerably – and much more so than I would have expected.
This is not just a programme for middle-class opera lovers, nor is it just a programme for those who experience significant breathlessness. I would advise everyone to consider ENO Breathe for their Long Covid clients.
Crook H, Raza S, Nowell J, Young M, Edison P( 2021) Long Covid – mechanisms, risk factors, and management. BMJ 2021; 374: n1648 doi: 10.1136 / bmj. n1648
© DrAfter123 via Getty Images
Words DEE HAWES, occupational therapist. For more information on the ENO Breathe intervention from the English National Opera see www. eno. org / eno-breathe /
30 OTnews June 2022