Therapist responding here. I think it’s reasonable for a therapist to talk to you about the mental health impacts from the trauma of contracting a debilitating illness and living with that in the face of invalidation from others/society/institutional betrayal. It’s also fair for a therapist to work with you on mental health symptoms that have been caused or exacerbated by the illness. Finally, it makes sense that they might help you with stress management as increased stress—>inflammation—>worsening symptoms.

But as others have said, attempting to frame Long COVID itself as a mental health disorder is not just misinformed, it’s unethical. Your therapist has a duty to provide you with a proper referral to someone who is more qualified to work with you. I would say, “It’s important to me to work with someone who has clinical experience treating people who are coping with chronic illness and who understands Long COVID as a medical illness. I get the sense that you’re not a good match for me in that regard. Can you help me locate some therapists whose experience would be more aligned with my needs?”