Video interaction guidance

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Colwyn Trevarthen, Harrie Biemans, Hilary Kennedy · 1980 · Netherlands

What it is

VIG is a brief, strengths-based intervention using video. A trained "guider" films a client briefly with someone they want a better relationship with, usually parent and child but possibly any pairing or age. The guider micro-analyses the film and edits it into short clips of moments that are going…

Format

• VIG runs as cycles. Each cycle is one short film followed by one shared review. AVIGuk lists six elements: (1) agreeing a helping question; (2) filming a few minutes of interaction; (3) micro-analysis and editing into clips of attuned moments; (4) shared review; (5) receiving the client's own…
• Phase A – Engagement and helping question. Goal: understand the client's concerns, worries and hopes for change, explain VIG and invite them to take part. James also places goal construction with the parent in the first session. Then agree a helping question tied to the client's goal, e.g. what…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• AVIGuk sets UK standards for VIG training and practice, and those of affiliated countries. The pathway:
• an AVIGuk-accredited initial 2-day course;
• accreditation at each of three stages;

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• reviews dominated by guider talk. Aim for the client to speak more than you.
• sliding into praise without content. Name the specific behaviour, not "good mum".
• anxiety about seeing themselves. Name it lightly and start with the strongest, least ambiguous clip.
• goals the client cannot yet do. Keep the next step within reach, in the zone of proximal development.
• your own interruptions, rushing or lecturing. These are visible when you review your filmed shared review (4.13).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.