Overview
What It Is Designs for Strong Minds is a cognitive rehabilitation system that uses specialized paper-and-pencil and structured exercises to strengthen thinking skills affected by brain injury or developmental differences. Work is typically delivered one-on-one or in small structured sessions with a trained practitioner.
How It Works Targeted cognitive exercise aims to rebuild or strengthen the underlying processing skills (attention, reasoning, visual processing, etc.) through repeated practice—applying experience-dependent plasticity to cognitive networks rather than only teaching compensatory strategies.
Conditions - Commonly used for: cognitive difficulties after traumatic brain injury or stroke, and developmental cognitive weaknesses. - Note: Support rests largely on clinical observation; independent controlled trials of this specific system are limited.
How it is administered
One-on-one or small-group sessions with a trained practitioner using structured paper-and-pencil and cognitive exercises. Frequency and duration are individualized.
Conditions connected in the NPA database
The NPA Treatment Database lists this treatment in connection with 7 condition records. A database relationship does not establish effectiveness, safety, or suitability for an individual.
Related questions
These controlled question pages reference this treatment through stored condition relationships.
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Symptoms connected in the NPA database
The current record associates this treatment with the following symptom information. This is not a claim that the treatment will improve these symptoms.
Cognition & Memory
- confusion with time/place
- Delayed cognitive skill development
- difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty sustaining attention
- difficulty with familiar tasks
- Difficulty with sequencing
- forgetfulness
- Later memory and thinking changes
- memory
- Memory loss (especially recent events)
- mental fog
- multitasking difficulty
- Problems with concentration
- processing speed for written information
- Short-term memory issues
- slowed mental processing
- slowed processing
- slowed thinking
- trouble organizing or completing tasks
- trouble planning or problem-solving
- working memory challenges
- working memory issues
Emotion & Behavior
- anxiety
- apathy
- avoidance of reading tasks
- depression
- difficulty with regulation
- emotional control issues
- emotional dysregulation
- frustration
- impulsivity
- Irritability
- lowered self-confidence
- Mood and personality changes
- mood changes
- mood swings
- Social-emotional delays
- withdrawal from activities
Practical information
Insurance coverage
Unlikely to be covered by most insurance plans as a distinct program.
Cost information
Initial consultations and private sessions can range from several hundred dollars each; full programs are often multi-thousand-dollar investments.
Results and outcomes described in the source record
Progress is assessed over weeks to months of consistent work.
Side effects and risks
Low risk. Mental fatigue possible.
Research context in the NPA database
This section reproduces the current database's research summary and detail. Structured citation metadata has not been supplied, so it should not be read as an independently verified literature review.
Research summary
Evidence Level: Limited
What the research shows: Clinical reports describe cognitive gains after brain injury or developmental challenges. Independent controlled trials are limited.
Key takeaway: A structured cognitive-exercise approach used mainly as part of broader rehabilitation.
Research detail
Overview Designs for Strong Minds is a cognitive rehabilitation system created by Dr. Donalee Markus. It uses specialized paper-and-pencil and structured exercises intended to strengthen underlying thinking skills that may have been affected by brain injury or developmental differences. Work is typically delivered one-on-one or in small structured sessions with a trained practitioner.
Evidence Base and Published Work • Support rests primarily on practitioner case series and pre-post clinical observations describing cognitive gains after brain injury or developmental challenges. • Independent controlled trials specific to the proprietary system are limited. • The approach is most often used as one component of broader cognitive rehabilitation. • Mental fatigue is possible with intensive exercise; medical risk is otherwise low.
Outcomes in clinical reports include cognitive gains after brain injury or developmental challenges. Independent high-quality controlled trials remain scarce. The method is typically positioned as part of a broader rehabilitation plan rather than a standalone intervention.
Questions to ask a provider
1. How will a Designs for Strong Minds assessment identify the specific cognitive areas to target for me? 2. What does a typical course of one-on-one sessions look like in frequency and duration? 3. What cognitive changes are most commonly reported, and over what timeframe? 4. How does this approach differ from standard cognitive rehabilitation or tutoring? 5. What is the cost structure, and is any portion covered by insurance or educational funding?
Website and contact information
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