Coping After COVID-19: Cognitive Behavioral Skills for Anxiety, Depression, and Adjusting to Chronic Illness

It is now well recognized that some individuals who develop COVID-19 will experience persisting symptoms such as sensory and movement challenges, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, cognitive difficulties (difficulty concentrating, multitasking, and brain fog), and many other debilitating changes to the body and mind. Many individuals with persisting COVID-19 symptoms, also known as Long Covid, may additionally experience anxiety and depression while struggling to adjust to changes to their everyday life and the uncertainty around their symptoms. These adjustment difficulties, anxiety, and depression can lead to poor adherence to medical treatments, contribute to disability, and negatively impact overall quality of life.

Drawing from existing evidence-based interventions, and their experience treating clients with COVID-19, the authors have developed a set of cognitive behavioral strategies to help clients with persisting symptoms of COVID-19. The therapist guide contains information on how to conceptualize psychiatric symptoms in the context of COVID-19 within a cognitive behavioral framework, tips on conducting an initial intake assessment, and a suite of cognitive behavioral strategies to help clients manage emotional difficulties, cognitive challenges, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, tailored for COVID-19. The book also includes optional modules on enhancing adherence to medical treatment, managing grief and loss, and working with families.

An accompanying client workbook contains worksheets and client-friendly explanations of CBT concepts and techniques.

Dr. Abhishek Jaywant is a clinical neuropsychologist with an NIH-funded research program focused on understanding and treating cognitive impairment and depression in individuals with medical/neurologic disorders including stroke, COVID-19, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. He was the attending neuropsychologist on COVID-19 rehabilitation and recovery units at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City during the early phases of the pandemic, treating over 100 COVID-19 patients. He was among the first to publish findings on neurocognitive impairment associated with COVID-19 for which he was recognized by the 2022 Neuropsychopharmacology Editors' Award for a Transformative Original Report (NEATOR Award).

Dr. Dora Kanellopoulos is a clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of cognitive dysfunction in the context of psychiatric illness. During the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in NYC, Dr. Kanellopoulos was an integral part of developing novel psychological interventions for healthcare workers and critically ill under-resourced patients who survived critical illness due to COVID infection. In the first year of the pandemic, Dr. Kanellopoulos treated COVID-19 survivors and healthcare workers, supervised other clinician volunteers, and created a free ongoing support group for survivors of serious medical illness due to COVID-19.

Dr. Lauren Oberlin is an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian. She is a neuropsychologist and leads a clinical research program focused on treatments to promote brain health and improve clinical and cognitive outcomes in aging and neurologic conditions. Dr. Oberlin contributed to the development of a psychological treatment program adapted for those experiencing persisting symptoms of COVID-19. She also helped implement a behavioral intervention for frontline healthcare workers delivered during the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and serves as co-investigator on a clinical trial evaluating a digital therapeutic for persistent cognitive difficulties following COVID-19.

Dr. Stephanie Cherestal earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Hofstra University. She serves as the director of the NYP-Westchester Behavioral Health Outpatient Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program, where she provides individual and group DBT treatment, and conducts supervision and training. She also serves as Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, which involves overseeing educational initiatives surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, as well as recruitment policies and efforts to increase diversity within the department. Dr. Cherestal's research interests include exploring strategies for increasing dissemination of evidence-based psychotherapies to marginalized communities.

Dr. Christina Bueno Castellano is a clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in culturally informed assessment and treatment of cognitive and psychiatric syndromes in the context of medical illness. She contributed to the development and implementation of psychological first aid and crisis management services for frontline health care workers and hospital staff impacted by COVID-19. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dr. Bueno provided treatment to COVID-19 survivors from underrepresented and marginalized communities to optimize the course of their recovery in outpatient rehabilitation following COVID-19 related illness and/or hospitalization.

Dr Victoria Wilkins is a clinical psychologist specializing in health psychology and bereavement. She has worked extensively with individuals and families coping with acute and chronic medical illnesses, women experiencing perinatal and menopausal mood and anxiety disorders, and individuals living with loss. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Wilkins provided bereavement care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine to healthcare workers and COVID-19 survivors as well as supervised clinician volunteers. She continues to provide outpatient individual and group therapy and support to COVID-19 survivors.