Supporting beyond the clinical pathway
For some people, persistent symptoms continue to significantly affect everyday life, despite appropriate medical assessment and treatment. Investigations may be reassuring, yet the way forward can remain unclear.
Knowing what to offer these patients next can be challenging, particularly when specialist services involve long waiting lists or there is no clear next step.
“Back pain, headache, abdominal symptoms, and fatigue are among the most frequently reported symptoms by patients in Western primary care, where they account for up to 50% of all consultations. Approximately a third of persistent physical symptoms cannot be attributed to a recognised disease.”
Source: Löwe et al. (2024), The Lancet
How Beyond Here can help
Beyond Here provides personalised, non-clinical support and a compassionate community for adults living with persistent physical symptoms via a five week programme or bespoke one-to-one coaching if preferred.
This sits alongside existing healthcare, offering people time, practical tools and education — things there often isn’t time to provide within a standard medical consultation.
Who is Beyond Here suitable for?
Beyond Here is designed for individuals who are medically stable and have received a thorough medical assessment and investigation. It is most appropriate where standard diagnostic tests and scans show no structural abnormalities, or do not fully explain the nature or extent of the ongoing physical symptoms.
This may include:
- Persistent pain, including long-term musculoskeletal pain and other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia by addressing central sensitivity
- Persistent headaches, including chronic tension-type headaches and migraines
- Persistent gastrointestinal symptoms, including IBS and abdominal pain
- Persistent fatigue, some people may benefit from exploring how fatigue symptoms are maintained and managed
- Functional neurological symptoms, including functional neurological disorder (FND) and persistent dizziness
- Other persistent physical symptoms, where a nervous-system-informed approach may be appropriate
People may particularly benefit where persistent symptoms are affecting daily life and they are open to exploring a different way of understanding and responding to them.
Suitability is considered according to the person’s individual circumstances, needs and readiness to take an active role in their wellbeing.
Our Approach
Understanding persistent symptoms
We draw on current pain science and the work of leading researchers and clinicians, including Professor Lorimer Moseley, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, and Dr Howard Schubiner, physician and researcher. This includes understanding how the brain and nervous system can influence symptom perception and the way symptoms are experienced.
This can help people make sense of what they are experiencing without dismissing their symptoms or suggesting that they are “all in the mind”.
Changing the symptom-fear cycle
Persistent symptoms can become associated with fear, monitoring, avoidance and loss of confidence.
We help people recognise these patterns and explore different ways of responding, with the aim of reducing the extent to which symptoms dominate everyday life.
Building confidence and reconnecting with life
Persistent symptoms can gradually make life smaller. We support people to explore sustainable, personalised ways of participating more fully in everyday life, while rebuilding confidence in what they can do.
The focus is on reconnecting with activities, relationships, work and experiences that matter to them, rather than following a fixed programme or organising life around symptoms.
Connection and community
Living with persistent symptoms can be isolating.
Our group programmes provide an opportunity to learn alongside others with similar experiences, share perspectives and feel less alone.
Hope and Possibility
We believe it is important to leave room for hope and possibility.
For some people, developing a different understanding of their symptoms and changing patterns of fear, avoidance and response can be accompanied by meaningful improvements in symptoms, wellbeing and everyday functioning. Some people may experience substantial recovery.
We cannot predict who will respond or promise a particular outcome. Our role is to provide people with the knowledge, tools and confidence to explore what may be possible for them.
Who provides the support?
Sara Varo, Co-founder and Facilitator
Qualifications and experience:
- EMCC Global Accredited Practitioner Coach – Diploma in Transformational Coaching
- SIRPA Practitioner, specialist training in approaches to persistent pain and other persistent symptoms (Stress Induced Recovery Practitioner Association) SIRPA UK
- EAET – Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy – supports emotional processing and the relationship between emotions, the nervous system and persistent symptoms.
- Safeguarding trained
- Experienced facilitator of one-to-one support, workshops and group programmes
- Personal lived experience of persistent symptoms and recovery
This personal lived experience is one of the reasons Beyond Here exists.
What happens when someone is referred?
If you feel a patient may benefit from Beyond Here, you can direct them to us to explore whether our support is appropriate.
We run regular free introductory webinars, giving people the opportunity to understand our approach, hear how we support participants and decide whether it feels right for them.
As a not-for-profit community interest company, we rely on grant funding, donations and our privately raised revenue to offer heavily subsidised programmes, helping make these services become more accessible.
Support may include:
Group Programmes and Community Groups
Facilitated five week programme combining education, practical tools, reflection and connection with others living with persistent symptoms, followed by monthly community groups to help implement and integrate the learning from the programme.
Learn more about group programmes
1:1 Coaching
Individual support for people who would benefit from dedicated time to explore their experience, understand patterns affecting their life and identify what they want to work towards.
Not sure if someone is suitable?
Please get in touch. We’re happy to talk through a potential referral before you direct someone to us.