Reauthoring the self in the aftermath of illness: narrative poetry therapy as a proposed practice-based intervention for long-COVID survivors

Long-COVID, or post-COVID-19 condition, can disrupt physical functioning, identity, continuity, and social participation. This practice-based article proposes an eight-week narrative poetry intervention for adults living with Long-COVID and outlines a qualitative protocol for future evaluation. The intervention has not yet been implemented; no participants have been recruited, and no outcome data are reported. Drawing on narrative therapy principles of externalization and reauthoring, the model combines paced poetry prompts, optional sharing, and communal reflection. Existing studies indicate that people with Long-COVID use poetry and creative narratives to express identity disruption and externalize illness, while creative-writing research highlights the value of short, fatigue-sensitive online sessions. The article, therefore, offers a structured narrative-poetry sequence linked to a prospective analytic plan using reflexive thematic analysis and close reading. It presents an ethically specified, testable practice model rather than evidence of therapeutic effectiveness.