Apply for Services

Find out who can apply for services and how to go about applying for Headway services below. If you need any help, please contact our Helpline on 1800 400 478. We will guide you through the process.

Who can apply?

• We will accept a referral from you or your family member or carer or professional working on your behalf.
• You must have  evidence of an Acquired Brain Injury, including stroke.  When we receive your form, we consult your medical records. This is to obtain further information about the nature of your brain injury.
• Generally, you must be aged 18 and above. Some strands of our services are limited to those under 65 years. This is because of funding restrictions and service appropriateness. We will outline any age restrictions clearly with you.
• You must be medically stable.  Headway does not administer or monitor any invasive medical procedures (e.g. feeding tubes, Foley catheters, injections etc.).
• You must be motivated and able to engage with the process of rehabilitation.

The Process

• Use one of the forms below to apply for Headway services. When we receive your form we will send you an acknowledgement within two weeks. We then look for evidence of a brain injury from your medical history. When we have done that, we invite you to an initial appointment with us. This will be with a family member, carer, partner or other person who knows you well. This is your chance to say what type of help you are looking for. It is our chance to meet you and establish how best we will be able to help you. We encourage you to discuss any concerns with us. We will explain uur services to you fully at the appointment.
• Headway provides services for people whose main difficulty is their or their loved one’s brain injury and associated recovery. We consider each referral individually. We do not usually work with people whose main difficulties are not related to their brain injury. Where the main difficulty is not clear from the referral form, we will invite you to attend a Needs Assessment. We will make the decision regarding the most appropriate service(s) following this assessment.
• Some people have complex needs which mean that our rehabilitation services are not necessarily appropriate. Some people may have their needs better met in another service. For example, addiction treatment programme, mental health services, intellectual disability service or older adult/dementia service. In these cases, we will provide you with information about appropriate agencies. You may engage with Headway again in the future as soon as you are able to benefit fully from rehabilitation.

Application forms