Inside the Recovery Journey: A Clinician’s View of Chronic Injury
Recovery from long-term injury extends beyond physical healing. Persistent pain can affect confidence, function, and readiness to return to work. Navigator Group’s Chronic Injury Program (CIP) delivers multidisciplinary rehabilitation that integrates physiotherapy, psychology and technology to improve recovery outcomes for workers experiencing persistent or chronic musculoskeletal pain.
In this clinician spotlight, Psychologist Lauren Kotevski shares her insights into how psychological intervention within CIP supports recovery, function, and sustainable return to work outcomes.
1. How does the Chronic Injury Program help participants rebuild function needed for work tasks?
The Chronic Injury Program focuses on improving both physical and psychological function through interdisciplinary intervention tailored to each client’s specific needs. From a psychological perspective, this includes pain education and management, emotional awareness and regulation, processing of memories or triggers, goal setting, and graded exposure to activities that simulate or prepare for work tasks. The program aims to build capacity, confidence, and independence, enabling participants to gradually re-engage in meaningful and productive roles, including employment.
2. What clinical indicators show that someone is ready to return to work?
From a psychological perspective, readiness to return to work includes improved ability to manage pain, enhanced emotional regulation, reduced distress related to work or injury, and increased self-efficacy. These changes are often reflected in better symptom management in daily life and a greater willingness to re-engage with structured activities or participate in discussions about returning to work.
3. How do you tailor treatment to match a participant’s specific job demands or physical requirements?
Psychological treatment is tailored by considering the participant’s history, present functioning, and return-to-work goals within therapeutic intervention. This approach allows us to develop a targeted treatment plan focused on building coping strategies and resources to overcome challenges related to returning to work. Techniques such as behavioural activation and graded exposure tasks can then be aligned with job demands to gradually increase tolerance and confidence in returning to work.
4. What types of workplace adjustments or graded duties tend to support successful return to work?
Workplace adjustments that support a psychologically safe return to work often begin with a gradual increase in hours and duties, helping participants build tolerance to cognitive and interpersonal demands without becoming overwhelmed. Additional adjustments may include flexible hours, predictable tasks, and supportive supervision. From a psychological perspective, these measures help reduce anxiety, restore confidence, and reinforce the individual’s sense of capability and control, which are all key factors for a sustainable return to work.
Lauren’s insights highlight the value of integrated rehabilitation in managing chronic musculoskeletal injuries and achieving lasting return to work outcomes. The Chronic Injury Program combines clinical leadership, psychological support, and motion sensor technology to deliver measurable recovery, improve function, and restore confidence for workers facing long-term pain.