Clinic for the broken-hearted to open in Amsterdam

The VU medical centre in Amsterdam is opening an outpatients clinic next week for people suffering from love-sickness. But don't expect to be given a magic pill that makes it all better.

The same academic hospital last year opened a clinic for people with unspecified medical problems - 'vague' physical complaints for which doctors can find no cause. So why not a facility to mend a broken heart?

But the 'love clinic' will only be open for one afternoon, next Saturday, and although real doctors are involved, no medication is being prescribed.

The clinic is meant both for those with a broken heart and people who are in love. People who are curious what love does to their bodies are the target audience for the initiative, says Carolien Bulte, a physician involved in the project. She will explain which hormones are activated and what they do to people.

People suffering from love-sickness should keep their expectations in check; they will not be given drugs or treatment.

"We hope people with a broken heart will be helped by gaining knowledge about the background of their pain - if they understand that what they feel is normal," says Bulte. "And if we encounter people with serious problems, we will refer them to their doctor."

The clinic for the love-sick is a collaboration between the VU medical centre and Paradiso, the music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam. It is part of the art project 'Love in the City' that saw Paradiso scatter 90,000 flowers in the Westerpark and found a political 'party for love' at a local high school.

Patients who show up at the clinic on Saturday - the event is already sold out - will not be subjected to blood tests. "Although it would be interesting to see if the hormones that cause love show in the blood," says Bulte. "But that would be too expensive. Also, we want to keep it fun."

More info: www.liefdeindestad.nl.