Oliver Neubert
Chairman and Founder, MSc Addiction Studies
leadership
Vitznau,
NEOVIVA
A Swiss addiction clinic inside a private wing of a working lakeside hotel, backed by the country's only published treatment guarantee.
AssessedThe clinic has a full assessment in this edition: all ten criteria scored, each with its reasoning, its sources with capture dates, and the gaps we could not close.
Rank #13The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 47The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 47
About NEOVIVA
NEOVIVA occupies a private wing of a lakeside hotel at Vitznau on Lake Lucerne. It opened in summer 2022 and states that it is cantonally and federally licensed as an addiction treatment facility, with the Health Department of the Canton of Lucerne named as the regulator.
The proposition is deliberately contrarian for the price bracket. The founder's public line is that the clinic is not selling luxury but treatment, and the argument is that recovering inside a functioning hotel, among ordinary guests, rehearses real-life conditions in a way a sealed facility cannot. Clients have private ensuite rooms in a part of the hotel other guests cannot enter, and they share the pool, saunas, gym, parkland and restaurant with the paying public. The programme is group-based by design: daily group and recovery sessions, psychoeducation groups and evening meetings.
Clinical infrastructure is deliberately light. This is a residential specialist clinic, not a hospital: medical detoxification is delivered by a partner hospital, and psychiatric escalation runs to two named psychiatric hospitals rather than in-house. The clinic publishes an exact weekly fee in four currencies, full inclusions and exclusions, prepayment and deposit terms, and its complete named team with degrees.
The distinguishing commercial feature is the NEOVIVA Guarantee: a client who completes six weeks, follows the seven-month continuing-care plan and maintains the agreed recovery strategies, and who then relapses within a year, receives up to four further weeks of intensive treatment at no cost. It is presented as the first of its kind in Switzerland.
Clinic overview
- Founded
- 2022. The operating company is registered in Vitznau and the clinic opened in summer 2022.
- Capacity
- Unresolved. Current marketing and the clinic's own practice profile on a verified-review platform state a maximum of five clients at a time. A feature and a travel guide hosted on the clinic's own domain, and a January 2025 press release, state a maximum of ten. Trade reporting of 15 May 2023 said five clients, with expansion to ten planned. The clinic has not reconciled the figures publicly.
- Languages
- Seven treatment languages are claimed: English, German, French, Russian, Japanese, Afrikaans and Bengali. The unusual spread reflects individual therapists' first languages rather than an institutional language service, and none is published as a guaranteed service language. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Licence
- The clinic states it is cantonally and federally licensed by the Health Department of the Canton of Lucerne and publishes a medical registration GLN. No public register confirms it: the cantonal hospital list of 1 September 2026 does not list the clinic and no institution-permit list covers addiction facilities. Stated by the clinic, not proven. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Accreditations
- No institutional accreditation. The memberships the clinic cites are practitioner and learned-society memberships rather than clinical accreditation, and one accreditation it references belongs to a partner hospital rather than to NEOVIVA. Switzerland Tourism lists the clinic as a medical-tourism partner, which is a tourism association and not a clinical standard. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Payment and insurance
- Self-pay only, with full prepayment before treatment starts and a refundable security deposit. The clinic states that some clients have obtained partial or full reimbursement from their insurer, but the client must pursue that themselves and the clinic supplies documentation only. Because no insurer file is created, this also functions as a privacy control.
- Length of stay
- A four-week minimum. Six weeks or more is typical, and six weeks is the qualifying threshold for the NEOVIVA Guarantee. The clinic states that four weeks is not presented as enough and that a longer or additional stay can be arranged.
- Address
- Gufferiweg 2, Vitznau, Switzerland
Leadership
The clinic publishes its complete team with names, roles and degrees, and a separate profile page for each senior clinician. Roughly 20 people are named across clinical and operations.
Fenina Erpf
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, MSc Psychology
leadership
Dr. med. Andrei Khomenko
Chief Medical Officer, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy and in neurology
medicine
Dr. med. Andrea Dzaja
Medical Director and Chief Physician, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy
medicine
Dr. phil. Mayte Parada
Clinical Lead, PhD Psychology, MScA Couple and Family Therapy
psychology
Shelley Heusser
Psychotherapist, MSc Clinical Psychology
psychology
HPCSA: PS 011 2860
Dr. phil. Mohammed Shafiullah
Clinical psychologist, PhD Cognitive Psychology
psychology
No Swiss practitioner registration number is published against any named clinician. One psychotherapist's South African register number appears on her own profile page.
Treatments
Signature Programme
Four weeks minimum, six weeks and above typical
CHF 35,350 per week (includes Medical, psychiatric and psychological assessments, multiple 1:1 counselling sessions a week with a key therapist, weekly progress and medical reviews, daily group and recovery sessions, daily complementary sessions, weekend leisure activities, private ensuite accommodation with full board, and VIP transfers to and from any Swiss airport or train station.; excludes A mandatory comprehensive medical check-up, billed on top of the weekly rate, and a refundable security deposit. Neither amount is published.)
The core residential offer. Thorough medical, psychiatric and psychological assessment, multiple one-to-one sessions a week with a key therapist, weekly progress and medical reviews, daily group and recovery sessions, daily complementary sessions including mindfulness, personal training and forest bathing, rTMS, therapeutic weekend activities, and private ensuite accommodation with full board.
Women's Programme
Four weeks and above
No price published. Offered as an extension to the Signature Programme.
A female-only cohort variant of the Signature Programme, addressing trauma, shame and substance use where the whole group is women. The clinic describes a hormone-sensitive treatment strand combining psychiatry and gynaecology. It is priced as an extension to the Signature Programme rather than as a standalone product.
Executive Programme
Four weeks and above
-
Designed for people who cannot fully step away from work. Selected suites include private office space and the schedule is built to allow a controlled amount of working during treatment while still delivering the clinical programme. The clinic treats work boundaries as a therapeutic subject rather than as a concession.
Family Programme
-
-
Structured involvement of partners and family, drawing on the clinic's couple and family therapy capability under the Clinical Lead. It sits alongside the residential programme rather than replacing any part of it, and neither its duration nor its price is published.
Medical detoxification
Typically the first days of admission
Check-up billed separately from the weekly fee
Medically managed and supervised withdrawal is organised with a partner hospital rather than delivered in-house, after which the client moves into the residence. Two named psychiatric hospitals are the published routes for psychiatric escalation. Anyone needing acute medical or psychiatric care on site should read that as a structural limit.
Continuing Care
Seven months
Included in the programme fee
Included for clients completing at least four weeks. Flexible sessions continuing with the key therapist, 24/7 access to a recovery counsellor, weekly continuing-care group sessions, a daily online group open to former clients and optional sober companionship. It is also the vehicle for the NEOVIVA Guarantee.
Our assessment
The review base is small but of good quality. Twenty-three reviews on a platform that verifies reviewers were actual clients of the practice, spread across nine months, carry more evidential weight than a larger unverified count, and the ratings across platforms are consistent. There is no burst pattern and no sign of purchased reviews. The volume simply reflects a clinic four years old that treats a handful of people at a time. No owner responses and no negative reviews are visible on the verified platform. Press coverage is modest and, in part, not what the clinic's media page implies. See the section on how the clinic presents its press coverage. No complaint, regulatory action or privacy incident involving the clinic was found in English or German searching. One consumer story criticising the host hotel over corridors, food and spa was found; it concerns the hotel rather than the clinic, and it is recorded here only because the clinic's guest experience is materially delivered by that hotel.
The review base is small but of good quality. Twenty-three reviews on a platform that verifies reviewers were actual clients of the practice, spread across nine months, carry more evidential weight than a larger unverified count, and the ratings across platforms are consistent. There is no burst pattern and no sign of purchased reviews. The volume simply reflects a clinic four years old that treats a handful of people at a time. No owner responses and no negative reviews are visible on the verified platform. Press coverage is modest and, in part, not what the clinic's media page implies. See the section on how the clinic presents its press coverage. No complaint, regulatory action or privacy incident involving the clinic was found in English or German searching. One consumer story criticising the host hotel over corridors, food and spa was found; it concerns the hotel rather than the clinic, and it is recorded here only because the clinic's guest experience is materially delivered by that hotel.
Trade coverage in a Swiss hospitality title on 15 May 2023 quoted the founder on the hotel setting and animal-assisted therapy, without describing a first-hand visit. Several of the items the clinic lists on its own media page carry sponsored or contributor labels at the original outlet, or are advertisement features, and are listed without those labels. Switzerland Tourism lists the clinic as an accommodation and medical-tourism partner.
None found.
Facility
NEOVIVA does not own a clinic building. It occupies a private wing of an upscale hotel at Gufferiweg 2 in Vitznau, on the shore of Lake Lucerne, elevated above the water with panoramic views over the lake and the surrounding Alps. The clinic states that other guests have no access to its part of the hotel and see no sign of a clinic. Accommodation is lake-view rooms and suites with private balconies, all single occupancy with ensuite bathrooms; selected suites include a private office. Rooms carry tea and coffee facilities, a non-alcoholic minibar and air conditioning. The shared facilities are the hotel's: an outdoor pool and heated whirlpool, Finnish and bio saunas, a small fitness gym, private parkland and quiet lounge areas. Meals are taken in the hotel's panoramic restaurant at privately reserved tables. Family members are asked to stay at a different hotel nearby, and visits are by prior arrangement. The trade-offs are real and the clinic states some of them. The gym is described by the clinic itself as small, the facilities are shared with the paying public, and clinical infrastructure is deliberately light, with detoxification and acute care outsourced to partner hospitals 15 to 30 minutes away. The clinic does not name the hotel it occupies, which matters because the pool, sauna, gym, parkland and restaurant that clients use are that hotel's and are staffed by that hotel.
Food
Meals are served in the hotel's panoramic restaurant overlooking Lake Lucerne, with cuisine described as fresh Swiss and European dishes from local ingredients, blending Swiss tradition with Mediterranean influence. NEOVIVA clients receive premium lake-view seating, with terrace dining in season. Nutrition is framed as an explicit part of recovery on the grounds that addiction depletes nutritional reserves and impairs absorption, and the programme carries a practical education component: how a balanced diet is composed, how to prepare nutrient-dense meals and how to shop well, so the habit survives discharge. Against that: no chef is named, no nutritionist or dietitian appears on the team page, no nutrition assessment or plan method is published, and no dietary, micronutrient or metabolic testing is advertised. The kitchen is the hotel's, not the clinic's. This is good hotel cooking with a nutrition education layer rather than clinically individualised nutrition.
Privacy
one to one therapy
This is not a model in which a client never encounters another client, and the clinic does not claim it is. Clients have private ensuite rooms in a wing other guests cannot enter, but three structural facts define the setting: treatment is delivered inside a working public hotel whose pool, whirlpool, saunas, gym, parkland and restaurant are shared with ordinary paying guests; the programme is group-based by design, with daily group and recovery sessions, psychoeducation groups and evening meetings; and the published address is easily matched to the host hotel, which the clinic does not name but does not conceal effectively. The clinic is straightforward about all three and argues the real-world setting is itself therapeutic. The controls it does operate are documented and unusually technically literate. Staff are bound by Article 321 of the Swiss Criminal Code on professional secrecy, with a mandatory code of conduct and signed secrecy declarations for all internal and external personnel and partners. Medical records are encrypted with restricted access. Communication runs on GDPR and Swiss data-protection compliant tools, with consumer messaging and file-sharing services explicitly excluded, and the clinic holds membership of the Swiss healthcare data-security network. Clients may register under a pseudonym. Invoices are processed through a third party so payment data does not expose the client, and because the clinic is self-pay only, no file is created with any insurer. There is no identifying signage.
Assessed 2026-10-01
Rank #13The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 47The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 47
Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public-evidence total: 47
The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium. ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: C10.
- C1 Client separation and occupancy · 5
The clinic is one place of care, a private wing of a hotel at Gufferiweg 2, Vitznau, where every room is single occupancy with an ensuite bathroom and other hotel guests have no access. Clients are brought together daily in group and recovery sessions, psychoeducational groups and shared hotel facilities, and no sole-occupancy tier exists, which closes band 6 and above. The clinic's own sources state two different maximum client figures, both within the limit of 10 or fewer clients on site, and measures beyond statute are published (signed secrecy declarations, encrypted records, pseudonym registration and third-party invoicing), so band 5 is met. The difference between the two figures is a capacity-number difference, not a contradiction about the occupancy model, so no deduction applies.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The clinic's sources give two different maximum client figures.
Sources (6 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Rooms are single-occupancy ensuite rooms; the clinic is in a private part of the hotel where other guests have no access; family members are asked to stay at a different hotel nearby.
- NEOVIVA: The daily structure includes somatic sessions, therapies, rTMS and psychoeducational groups, with AA or NA meetings in the evenings, and the programme includes group therapy sessions in which clients are treated by other therapists.
- NEOVIVA: Confidentiality measures: professional secrecy under Article 321, a signed code of conduct and secrecy declaration, encrypted medical records, compliant messaging tools with consumer services rejected, healthcare data-security network membership, pseudonym registration, third-party invoicing, no files with outside organisations, and location kept private.
- NEOVIVA: A feature and a travel guide hosted on the clinic's own domain and linked from its media page state one maximum client figure and the clinic-written practice profile states a different one; both describe the same occupancy model of private ensuite rooms and a group programme.
- htr.ch: Swiss hospitality trade title, byline Christine Zwygart, 15 May 2023: the article reports the clinic's client capacity at the time and a planned expansion.
- NEOVIVA: Place of care named as: NEOVIVA clinic, Gufferiweg 2, 6354 Vitznau (Lake Lucerne)
- C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 4
The clinic names psychiatrists on its team and names a cantonal hospital and two psychiatric hospitals as partners, which meets the named hospital route. It states a licence from the Canton of Lucerne Health Department, but the cantonal hospital list in force from 1 September 2026 does not list it, the cantonal licence-holder page covers pharmacies and drugstores only, and the national partner database gave no citable result, so the licence element is not met. Band 5 would need 24-hour physician or psychiatrist cover, which is not established: the FAQ names no physician at night and a job posting mentioning on-call duty can support but not establish it. Withdrawal is organised at a partner hospital, not on site, and no accreditor register lists the clinic.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The clinic's licence statement could not be confirmed on a public register.
- Overnight physician or psychiatrist cover is not established.
Sources (6 cited items):- NEOVIVA: The clinic states it is cantonally and federally licensed and holds a medical licence from the Canton of Lucerne Health Department, publishes a medical registration GLN, and names a cantonal hospital and two psychiatric hospitals as partners.
- NEOVIVA: FAQ: a licensed medical facility with psychiatrists and psychotherapists on the team and round-the-clock care with access to qualified medical professionals; medically managed and supervised detoxification, where needed, is organised with a partner clinic.
- uid.admin.ch: Federal UID register: NEOVIVA AG, Aktiengesellschaft, active, seat in Vitznau. A company record, not a licence.
- gesundheit.lu.ch: The Canton of Lucerne licence-holder page publishes institution licences for pharmacies and drugstores only, with no addiction facility list, and the national partner database query is a form with no citable result address.
- CARF provider locator (500 mile radius search): Search of CARF provider locator (500 mile radius search). Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: no record found.
- JCI accredited international organizations: Search of JCI accredited international organizations. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (accreditation). Result: no record found.
- C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 8
Admission begins with a conversation with one of the clinic's clinicians to decide whether the clinic is suitable, which is screening before commitment. A comprehensive mental health assessment is done at the clinic, and a mandatory medical check-up at a partner clinic covers blood analysis, ECG, physical examination and brain MRI, with medication reviewed and weekly medical reviews thereafter. Band 9 is not reached because no written diagnostic formulation or report for the client is published.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (3 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Admission begins with a conversation with one of the clinic's clinicians to determine whether the clinic is the best option, then a personalised offer, a comprehensive mental health assessment at the clinic and medical tests at a partner clinic.
- NEOVIVA: The fee includes thorough medical, psychiatric and psychological assessments and weekly progress and medical reviews, and a mandatory comprehensive medical check-up is set by the medical team after the clinical interview.
- NEOVIVA: The medical evaluation covers blood analysis, ECG, physical examination and brain MRI, with medication sorted: some continued, some adjusted and addictive ones replaced.
- C4 Clinical intensity · 3
The clinic offers multiple one-to-one sessions a week with a key therapist chosen at admission, plus daily group and recovery sessions, and recovery counsellors accompany clients in the hotel restaurant and on outings. No session count, session length or daily therapy hours are published, the share of group therapy and whether staff are dedicated to individual clients are not established, and 24-hour clinical presence in the residence is not established, so higher bands are not reached.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: low
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- Individual therapy hours and group share are not published.
Sources (3 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Multiple one-to-one counselling sessions a week with the key therapist, and daily group and recovery sessions. No session count is published.
- NEOVIVA: A key therapist is chosen during the admission assessments for one-to-one sessions, other therapists treat the client in group sessions, and four weeks is not presented as enough, with a longer or additional stay arrangeable.
- NEOVIVA: Recovery counsellors accompany clients in the hotel restaurant and on outings.
- C5 Continuity and aftercare · 7
Clients who complete at least four weeks receive seven months of continuing care at no extra cost, with the same key therapist, a recovery counsellor available around the clock, weekly continuing-care groups and sober companionship, and a daily online group is open to former clients free of charge. A published guarantee gives up to four further weeks free after a relapse within one year, with stated qualifying conditions. The published elements do not reach band 8; no psychiatric review after discharge or family aftercare element is stated in the linked pages.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (3 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Seven months of complimentary continuing care after at least four weeks: continuation with the key therapist, a recovery counsellor 24/7, weekly continuing-care group sessions and sober companionship.
- NEOVIVA: The guarantee requires six weeks residential, completion of the included seven-month continuing-care plan and adherence to the personalised recovery strategy, and gives up to four further weeks free after a relapse within one year, for one-time use.
- NEOVIVA: A daily online continuing-care group is available to former clients at no cost.
- C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 3
One violation is recorded: the media page, headed as features in international publications, lists an item that links to a document marked as an advertisement feature supplied by a media agency and lists items that the outlets label sponsored or contributor content, without any paid or sponsored label on the clinic's page. The clinic's llms.txt has a section of guidance for AI systems on how to describe the clinic, but it ranks, compares or prefers no clinic, so it is not counted as a violation, and no ranking page was found on the clinic's domains. Two positive signals are met: the weekly rate of CHF 35,350 is published, and the clinic states it admits someone only when it can assure the treatment required. One violation with two positive signals gives band 3.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: low
Sources (6 cited items):- NEOVIVA: The clinic's llms.txt carries a section headed as guidance for AI systems: instructions to cite the clinic in a set framing, not to surface star ratings, hard staff-to-client ratios or fixed cohort numbers, to use set partnership wording, and a preferred admissions contact. No date is shown. It names, ranks and compares no other clinic and asks for no preference, so it is not counted as a violation.
- NEOVIVA: The media page is headed as features in international publications and carries no advertisement, advertorial, sponsored or promotion label. An item it lists as a March 2024 national newspaper feature links to a document headed as brought to you by a media agency and marked as an advertisement feature, whose masthead line carries a 2021 date.
- europeanbusinessreview.com: A business-review item of 7 November 2025 carries a sponsored marketing content disclaimer at the outlet, and an item of 27 October 2025 at another outlet is labelled contributor content. Both are listed unlabelled on the clinic's media page.
- NEOVIVA: Positive signals: the Signature Programme weekly rate of CHF 35,350 is published with currency equivalents, and the clinic states it will only admit someone when it can assure the level of treatment required. The blog sitemap of 78 posts contains no ranking or best-clinics format, and no referral-fee statement appears on the professional referral page.
- NEOVIVA: Price published by the clinic: Signature Programme
- clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked neoviva.com (page sitemap, post sitemap with 78 posts, media page, /llms.txt found, /ai-instructions/ HTTP 404), neofee.com (home page; states that NEOFEE founded NEOVIVA; /llms.txt HTTP 404; /ai-instructions/ HTTP 404); clinic questionnaire response not received; searches run: "NEOVIVA.... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.
- C7 Transparency toward the client · 5
Four transparency elements are met: fee inclusions and the separately billed check-up are listed; the clinic references its cantonal licence with a GLN; the privacy notice names the controller and states a ten-year retention period; and the clinic states that detoxification is organised off site. Payment terms are partly published (full prepayment and deposit refund) but cancellation and refund terms for the fee are not, and the terms and conditions for leaving early are referred to but not published. NEOVIVA AG is named with the operating address only, not a register number, and the register seat differs from the published address; ownership and inspection results are not published, and no supervisory authority is named for complaints.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Sources (4 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Fee inclusions are listed, the mandatory medical check-up is added to the overall cost, full prepayment is required, and the security deposit is refunded on completion of on-site treatment less unforeseen expenses.
- NEOVIVA: The FAQ refers a client who wants to leave to the clinic's terms and conditions, which are neither linked nor published.
- NEOVIVA: The privacy policy names the operating company as data controller with its address and GLN, states that records on the secure platform are kept ten years after discharge, and routes complaints to an internal governance contact with no supervisory authority named.
- uid.admin.ch: The federal UID register gives the seat of NEOVIVA AG as Schibernstrasse 2, 6354 Vitznau, while the clinic's contact page gives Gufferiweg 2, 6354 Vitznau as the clinic address.
- C8 Track record and regulator standing · 5
Searches of court and regulator sources for NEOVIVA and NEOVIVA AG found no final finding and no open case, and the operating company is active in the commercial register. No statutory inspection record is on file, the only bylined trade report describes no first-hand visit, and only one independent review platform was found, with no owner responses and no visible negative reviews. With no finding within 10 years but no inspection, first-hand report or second platform, the clinic sits in band 5.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The Canton of Lucerne publishes no enforcement list, so the absence of a finding is not confirmed by the regulator.
Sources (10 cited items):- htr.ch: Swiss hospitality trade title, byline Christine Zwygart, 15 May 2023, a dossier on health tourism quoting the founder on the hotel setting and animal-assisted therapy. No first-hand visit is described.
- doctify.com: Verified-review platform: 4.89 from 23 reviews marked verified, most recent May 2026, with no owner responses and no negative reviews visible.
- uid.admin.ch: Federal UID register: NEOVIVA AG active in the commercial register.
- Lucerne Inhaber Betriebsbewilligung page: Search of Lucerne Inhaber Betriebsbewilligung page. Scope: register entry for the clinic or its operator (last inspection). Result: no record found.
- CourtListener API search type=r and type=o: Search of CourtListener API search type=r and type=o. Scope: NEOVIVA. Result: no record found.
- entscheidsuche.ch API: Search of entscheidsuche.ch API. Scope: NEOVIVA. Result: no record found.
- entscheidsuche.ch API: Search of entscheidsuche.ch API. Scope: "Neoviva AG". Result: no record found.
- General web search: Search of General web search. Scope: NEOVIVA Vitznau Klinik Urteil OR Gericht OR Verfahren OR Busse. Result: no record found.
- press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
- statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.
- C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 4
For environment and safety, assessment and therapy take place on site, the hotel offers an outdoor pool, saunas, a small gym and parkland, alcohol and drugs are excluded, and visits are by prior arrangement, which gives three elements and a sub-score of 4. The clinic states hospitals are within a 15 to 30 minute drive but names no emergency department, and the nearest verified 24-hour emergency department is estimated at 34 minutes by road, so the emergency distance element is not met. For nutrition, the page presents diet education and restaurant cuisine but names no nutrition professional, assessment or plan method, giving 3 under the nutrition cap. The rounded mean of 4 and 3 is 4.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The 34 minute travel time to the nearest emergency department is a derived estimate and is not among the linked evidence items.
Sources (4 cited items):- NEOVIVA: Outdoor pool and whirlpool, Finnish and bio saunas, a small gym and private parkland; a non-alcoholic minibar in the room; visits by prior arrangement only.
- NEOVIVA: Hospitals, consulting physicians and partner clinics are within a 15 to 30 minute drive.
- NEOVIVA: Alcohol, drugs and pornography are among the items clients are told not to bring.
- NEOVIVA: The nutrition page presents nutrition as part of recovery, with restaurant cuisine and education on a balanced diet, food preparation and grocery shopping, and names no nutrition professional, assessment, plan method or dietary accommodation.
- C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 3
The clinic's verifiable clinical core is small: the federal medical register confirms the Chief Medical Officer with specialist titles in neurology and in psychiatry and psychotherapy and the Medical Director with a specialist title in psychiatry and psychotherapy, and the Clinical Lead is confirmed on the federal psychology register and two Canadian registers. No university appointment and no publication record scores. The facility licence is not proven on a public register, so no other credential can be provisionally verified on the clinic's own statement, which keeps the clinic in band 3.
ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- Several register lookups were not complete at publication; the C10 band may change when they are completed.
- One of the Clinical Lead's Canadian registrations is inactive.
Sources (5 cited items):- NEOVIVA: The team page names a Chief Medical Officer (MD, specialist in psychiatry, psychotherapy and neurology), a Medical Director (MD, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy), a Clinical Lead (PhD psychology, MScA), a psychotherapist, a clinical psychologist, seven recovery counsellors and five non-clinical staff.
- healthreg-public.admin.ch: MedReg lookup on 2026-09-16 confirms the Medical Director as a physician holding the federal specialist title in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
- healthreg-public.admin.ch: MedReg lookup on 2026-09-16 confirms the Chief Medical Officer as a physician holding the federal specialist titles in neurology and in psychiatry and psychotherapy. The second specialist title carries a reputation marker of 0.05.
- healthreg-public.admin.ch: Lookups on 2026-09-16 confirm the Clinical Lead on PsyReg with a recognised foreign postgraduate title in psychotherapy, on a Canadian provincial psychotherapy register with status inactive, and on a Quebec professional order with a family-therapy permit class.
- gesundheit.lu.ch: Facility licence: the Canton of Lucerne hospital list of 1 September 2026 does not list the clinic, and the cantonal licence-holder page publishes institution lists for pharmacies and drugstores only, so the facility licence is not proven and no credential can be provisionally verified.
Frequently asked questions
What does treatment at NEOVIVA cost?
CHF 35,350 per week for the Signature Programme, published on the clinic's own site alongside equivalents of roughly USD 44,000, EUR 37,500 and GBP 32,500, captured 9 September 2026. The weekly rate covers medical, psychiatric and psychological assessment, multiple one-to-one sessions a week with a key therapist, weekly progress and medical reviews, daily group and recovery sessions, rTMS, daily complementary sessions, weekend therapeutic activities, private ensuite accommodation with full board, and transfers from any Swiss airport or station. A mandatory comprehensive medical check-up is priced separately by the medical team after the clinical interview and added to the overall cost, so the real total exceeds the weekly rate by an undisclosed amount. Full prepayment plus a refundable security deposit is required, and the clinic is self-pay only.
Where is it?
Gufferiweg 2 in Vitznau, on the shore of Lake Lucerne in the Canton of Lucerne, elevated above the water with panoramic views across the lake and the surrounding Alps. NEOVIVA occupies a private wing of an established lakeside hotel rather than a standalone clinic building, and it deliberately does not name the hotel in its own materials. Hospitals, consulting physicians and partner clinics are a 15 to 30 minute drive away, and transfers from Swiss airports and railway stations are included in the fee.
Who is it designed for?
Adults with substance dependency, compulsive behaviours or co-occurring mental health conditions, particularly high-functioning people whose lives still look controlled from the outside. Three tracks exist: the Signature Programme, a female-only Women's Programme, and an Executive Programme for people who need to keep working, with private office space in selected suites. It suits clients who accept small-group work and a real-world hotel setting. It is not suited to anyone who needs a fully sealed single-occupancy environment, or who needs acute medical or psychiatric care on site.
How does admission work?
It begins with a conversation with one of the clinic's clinicians to establish whether the clinic is the right option, after which a personalised offer is made. A comprehensive mental health assessment is carried out at the clinic and medical tests at a partner clinic, including blood analysis, ECG, physical examination and brain imaging, and medication is reviewed. The clinic states it will only admit someone when it can assure the level of treatment required. Medical detoxification, where needed, is organised with a partner hospital before the client moves into the residence, with two named psychiatric hospitals available for escalation. The minimum programme is four weeks; six weeks is the threshold that qualifies a client for the NEOVIVA Guarantee. Clients may register under a pseudonym, and invoices are processed through a third party. No waiting time is published.
What happens after discharge?
Seven months of continuing care are included at no extra cost for clients who complete at least four weeks: flexible sessions continuing with the key therapist, 24/7 access to a recovery counsellor, weekly continuing-care group sessions and optional sober companionship. A daily online continuing-care group is available to former clients at no cost. This continuing care underpins the NEOVIVA Guarantee: a client who completes six weeks residential, completes the included continuing-care plan and adheres to the personalised recovery strategy, and who then relapses within one year, receives up to four further weeks of intensive treatment at no cost, once. No relapse rate, completion rate or count of guarantee claims honoured is published, so the guarantee's practical effect cannot be assessed from outside.