Significant Brain Injury Clinic America May Come to Netherlands

While most rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands teach patients to deal with their complaints, Cognitive FX wants to cure people.

Neuropsychologist and founder of the therapy center in Utah Alina Fong’s method of treatment is not yet scientifically proven. The many exciting stories of Dutch people who traveled to Utah for treatment are sure not lost on Dutch science. The principal investigator of the Amsterdam UMC, Marsh Koenigs, is the reason for conducting an independent investigation.

Patients traveling to Utah are monitored before and after travel to the United States. The Brain Foundation funds the research. Koenigs: “There is no scientific basis for the effectiveness of that treatment. Yet a significant group of people travel to Utah for treatment at their own expense. We believe that anyone considering going there deserves to know if it makes sense.”

Lots of incentives

People can quickly lose 20,000 euros for treatment in Utah. Patients with acquired brain injuries perform as many cognitive tasks as possible simultaneously during rehabilitation. The process lasts for five full days from 8 am to 5 pm. It is a serious procedure in which complaints sometimes worsen temporarily on the first day.

An advanced MRI scan is used, which the hospital says can determine which part of the brain is the problem so that targeted treatment can be given.

Responsiveness, eye-hand coordination, Balance, memory, concentration, vision and language are practiced everywhere in Utah. An example of how things might go in an American clinic: A patient sits on a balance ball. He or she must catch balls of different colors and throw one color to one person and the other color to a second person. At the same time, there is a distracting background noise and questions are asked in between.

There are also rest periods.

Many Dutch people to Utah

The Utah clinic now says it has treated 6,000 people since opening in 2018. About 600 patients came from the Netherlands, the clinic said. This means that ten percent of the total customer base consists of Dutch people.

So it’s no surprise that Utah-based coaches are exploring the Dutch market.