ABSTRACT
The account of the psychological impact of the Black Death in Florence in 1348 by Boccaccio is strikingly similar to media accounts of the debilitating effects of the COVID crisis. However, studies suggesting that almost half of the population have a recognised psychological disorder, as a result of COVID-19 are a likely exaggeration, as they are based on self-report measures rather than clinical interviews and in the media in general, the distinction between difficulties and disorder is not made. Nevertheless, the tentacles of a pandemic are likely to complicate further the lives of those debilitated by trauma. In this chapter, the pathway to the recovery of a Healthcare Assistant, bullied at work, who then contracted COVID is chartered. This case highlights how those in the affected individual's ‘bubble’ may both complicate and facilitate recovery. The therapeutic task is to capitalise on catalysts for positive therapeutic change and nullify or transform the depressogenic agents in the client's personal world.
