A new brain fog clinic for Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP veterans and their families is now open in Surrey.
The program is offered to eligible individuals throughout B.C. and is based at the Centre for Clinical Excellence for Veterans and First Responders Health in Surrey.
Lorne Friesen, CEO at Veterans and First Responders Health, said the program is tailored to meet each individual's needs. It's available at no cost for Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP veterans and their families through the Legion Veterans Village Research Foundation and a grant from Veterans Affairs Canada.
The program is designed to address the neurological and cognitive impacts of brain fog from concussions, long COVID and other conditions, Friesen said.
Over 65 per cent of people who have registered for the program since it started in March suffer from long COVID, Friesen added.
After an individual is accepted into the program, they meet with a clinician for a detailed assessment and screening. The clinician will identify one of their primary issues and determine what "the best process for that individual is."
"This initial evaluation is crucial in tailoring the program to meet individual needs effectively," notes a post on vfrh.ca/brain-fog.
The individual will meet with the clinicians again after the program ends.
"We do various measurements to determine more objectively how they are, how life is going, how their fatigue levels are going, all of those kinds of things," Friesen said.
The program is broken down into two main components: meeting with other participants as a group, and one-on-one meetings with health professionals.
During the 12-week program, participants meet virtually as a group every week to learn about different topics associated with brain fog, which is taught by allied health professionals — such as clinician counsellors, exercise physiologists, naturopaths, and nutrition and health coaches.
They learn about various topics including nutrition, mental health, sleep and exercise. These group-based educational sessions help participants understand and manage their symptoms.
"It's a whole sort of team approach to that psychoeducation component," Friesen said.
Participants also have access to one-on-one services that are focused on "lifestyle-based interventions," Friesen said. "The individual elements are very personalized, the personal therapeutic program, so really trying to build something that's specific to them."
"So, for example, they meet with a sleep coach to address sleep challenges, to look at sleep hygiene and how to optimize their sleep. They meet with a nutritionist who helps them, you know, on a one-to-one basis looks at how their eating strategies can be enhanced to particularly decrease inflammation," Friesen said.
They will also work with a kinesiologist who creates a tailored exercise routine for them.
"We have to be careful with brain fog and long COVID because if people exercise too vigorously, it can actually set them back," Friesen said.
The program is currently only offered in B.C., but they are looking to expand across the country, Friesen said.
First responders and their family members can also participate in the program.
"We're looking at other provinces, of course, because of the nature of the program and the assessments that have to be done by a regulated health professional, so we have to make sure that we're we have people who are appropriately certified to do different elements of the program."
For more information, visit vfrh.ca/brain-fog.