Admission procedure

Register

Step 1

The first step towards a change in your life starts when you contact U-center by phone. Our psychologists and therapists are available every weekday until 8 pm. During the first telephone call, we explain how the admission process works and answer any questions you may have. Then we will ask you for general information, such as your social security number and other administrative details. We need these to be able to register you. We can also provide an insurance check on the spot and we will conduct a short telephone screening to see if U-center is the right match for you. After registration, a non-binding admission process follows. This involves an interview – online, depending on distance - with one of our professionals (psychologists) in order to provide you with a clinical admission advise, or a possible alternative.

If you are a NATO affiliated employee, you will already have gone through a thorough medical screening. However, we still need to register you and conduct a short telephone screening and consultation with our of our therapists. This can take place online, preferably with clinical notes. If you are accepted and have insurance approval, our planning department will provide you with the date of admission.

Telephone screening

Step 2

As soon as you have registered, we look at the reasons for your registration in more depth. Which complaints do you have and how long have you had them? Are psychological, physical and / or social problems involved? Which help have you already received and what are your expectations and goals at U-center? The telephone screening can take place immediately or within a day of registering with us. We can also call you back at a time that is convenient to you. During the screening call, we make an initial assessment on the basis of your complaints, and whether U-center could be a good solution for you.

Referral and additional documents

Step 3

In order to receive treatment at U-center, we need a letter of referral from your doctor or psychiatrist. We would also like to receive reports of previous treatment so we can make a good assessment of your complaints and personal situation. This is all essential in order to determine whether treatment at U-center is appropriate for you. These documents are also necessary for your health insurer. You should request any other relevant reports yourself from relevant care provider(s).

If you are living in the Netherlands and you do not provide information about any previous treatment, you may not be eligible for admission at U-center, or the treatment may not be fully covered by your insurance. Your general practitioner (GP) can send the referral letter and related information to us securely online via eReferral, the ZorgDomein referral platform. This is an online platform that enables GPs to support their clients during referral to specialized healthcare institutions in the Netherlands.

Complete questionnaire

Step 4

Once all documents have been received by U-center, are in order, and have been reviewed by our intake team, and we have determined a date for the advisory consultation (Step 5), you will be asked to complete an online questionnaire. You will receive a personal log-in code for the U-center portal, “My U-center”. It will take around an hour to complete the questionnaire.

Advisory consultation

Step 5

We have invited you for a personal advisory consultation with one of our psychologists and a supervising practitioner. It usually takes place online within a week after approval of your registration. During our online meeting, we discuss your complaints in detail. We consider your request for assistance and establish your financial means. We also go through all the documents you have submitted together, such as the referral letter and your completed questionnaire. We explain our treatment programme, and discuss your expectations and the goals you would like to reach. We recommend that you bring a family member, friend or partner to this meeting. They can support you, listen and provide additional information. We can then decide if inpatient treatment at U-center could be beneficial for you.

Admission

Step 6

Together, we decide on the basis of the advisory consultation, whether you will be admitted to U-center. We try to come to a decision during the advisory consultation, but it may be that we need to discuss this further, or that we need additional information. If we find that admission to U-center is not the best solution for you, we are happy to provide advice about possible alternatives. If we do recommend that you come to U-center, we will offer you the first available place and will schedule  the start date with you. Generally, admission takes place from two to four weeks after the advisory consultation. Sometimes we need to request authorization from your insurer, in which case we can schedule admission after receiving the approval. Always check your insurer’s terms and conditions and look at our current waiting times.