FAQs
Find out more about cognivate
Frequently asked questions
We see adults (over the age of 16) with non-progressive acquired brain injury. This may include traumatic brain injuries, strokes, tumours, infections or other brain injuries acquired after birth.
We normally see people in their own homes. However we can work with you in almost any location that will help you achieve your goals. For example we can meet you in your workplace, gym or local community setting. We can also do “video sessions” (using zoom or whatsapp) where appropriate.
In a multidisciplinary team, although the different clinicians work towards a common goal, they plan and carry out therapy individually and feed back to each other.
In an interdisciplinary team, the clinicians still bring their individual expertise and may carry out their own assessments and treatments, but they then work together to develop goals and therapy plans. This entails all therapists contributing to problem solving via frequent communication.
The treatment approach and techniques we use are based on research which shows them to be effective. For example, we know from a randomised controlled trial that the interdisciplinary model results in improvements in people’s independence, social functioning, and psychological well-being – that is why we are taking this approach. And we likewise ensure that our individual therapists use techniques which have been demonstrated to work.
Yes, we welcome enquiries from anyone. Give us a call or email us, and one of the team will advise you on what aspect of our service might be most relevant to your needs. This could be a full assessment and rehab programme or it may be accessing our group classes.
Once we have got to know you and have begun to implement practical actions focused on your goals we may be able to balance hands-on sessions in your home with one or more of the following;
- Remote sessions, where our therapists connect with you online. This can be a very effective way of helping you with certain aspects of the rehabilitation programme – for instance, with developing and practising strategies to improve your memory or communication, or to manage your fatigue.
- Training other people, e.g. carers, family members, or a rehabilitation assistant, to practise techniques and strategies with you. Our therapists will provide ongoing supervision and support via video calls between their own sessions with you.
- Online group sessions with other people in a similar situation to yourself. These might include exercise classes or sessions to discuss and practise techniques to help with the problems you experience (e.g. mood swings, memory difficulties, etc). And some of our groups will be purely social, so that you can get to know people who have shared some of your experiences.
All of these approaches are travel-free, and if we think they will be valuable to you we will use them as much as possible.
The focus of in-patient and home-based rehabilitation is different. In-patient rehab is brilliant in the early stages after an injury when your brain and body are recovering and you need a combination of medical treatment and intensive work focusing on basic physical and cognitive impairments. But when you are discharged home you face new ‘real life’ challenges, which will be different for every person depending on their particular circumstances and difficulties.
Community-based rehabilitation is a problem-solving process where we work with you to find ways of living life to the full – being as independent as possible, participating in rewarding activities, developing strong relationships, being happy. This can only be done at home, and research has shown that our interdisciplinary approach results in longlasting gains, however long ago your brain injury happened
No. If you have problems which need input from more than one therapist, we are the team for you. Some of our clients need a combination of just two disciplines – for instance physiotherapy to improve mobility and neuropsychology to help with mood and cognitive problems – and others might need three or four.
We will always start by finding out about you and your family’s hopes and aspirations so that we can identify which therapy expertise will best help you to achieve these. We will not recommend more therapies than are needed at any given time to make progress towards those goals.
We provide interdisciplinary vocational rehabilitation individually tailored to meet the needs of our clients. We work with both the employee and the employer to find solutions to issues at work that have occurred as a result of a brain injury. Cognivate provides a wide range of interventions to help people with an acquired brain injury to return to, remain in, and seek paid or unpaid work or study. You can read more here.
Yes, we can. Our vocational rehabilitation service involves working with both the employer and employee to help the person with an acquired brain injury return to work. This initially involves an assessment of the employee to determine their current abilities, alongside an analysis of their current job, to identify any potential issues. We may also need to carry out an assessment of the workplace. Our therapists will work with you and your employee to make return to work recommendations. Please contact us and a member of our team can advise more about the ways we can help.
At cognivate we know how important it is that families are supported. If a client wishes, we will involve their family from the start, in identifying problems, setting goals, and participating in therapy. We also offer direct support to family members, whether it be in the form of advice, training, family counselling, or facilitating peer support with other families in similar situations
When we set rehabilitation goals with a client it’s important that they are based on real needs that the client has identified as important to them. This might be something like being able to go clothes shopping, getting back to playing a team sport, or participating in a book group, or it might be to do with getting back to college or work. Evidence shows that choosing ‘real life’ goals in therapy produces more successful results.
Cognivate develops personalised treatment plans for each of our clients. The duration of your treatment will depend on your individual needs and goals. Our assessment will help us to estimate how many sessions you’re likely to need to achieve certain goals, over what time frame. We discuss this with you and your referrer.
Your progress will be regularly reviewed throughout your treatment programme. Towards the end of your programme we will work with you, and if applicable with your family and/or carers, to prepare you for discharge. This includes making recommendations to help you maintain and continue your progress once we’re no longer involved, including linking you in with other services in your area if appropriate.
When we discharge you, we will send you a discharge report describing your rehabilitation programme, your progress, and any recommendations for the future. With your agreement, this report will also be shared with other people involved in supporting you so that they are aware of our advice and recommendations.