Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD)

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Nationally recommended programme for adoptive families

Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) is a new way of working with adoptive families in the UK and can be funded via the Adoption Support Fund.

What is VIPP?Coming together as a new family is exciting but also brings new challenges for all involved. Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) is a preventive intervention. It aims to build strong attachment relationships between parents and children by helping parents to see the world through their child’s eyes and by supporting them with their parenting. The practitioner delivering VIPP-SD will help parents to see the strengths and difficulties in the interaction with their child which can help further develop their relationship.

Who is VIPP-SD for? This programme is for families with children aged one to six years. The ideal time to start the intervention is between 2-6 months after you joined together as a family.

How does it work?The allocated practitioner comes to your family home for up to seven visits. Each visit lasts for between 1-2 hours. You and your child are given some basic activities to do such as playing together, reading, tidying up and having a meal. These activities are video recorded by the practitioner on a small hand-held video recorder. After the filming you and the

practitioner view the recording of the previous visit and think together about what you both see in the interactions between you and your child.

How long do I need to commit to the programme? The programme is spaced over a 4-6 months period and the visits are normally arranged between two weeks and one month apart. Experience shows that families benefit more from the programme if they complete all of the sessions. What do parents who have taken part in the programme say?Throughout the sessions, I always felt supported in my parenting and never felt judged. I soon got used to being filmed and I didn’t expect I would benefit in the ways I did from watching myself and my son on the videos and seeing the world through his eyes. I was able to stand back and see myself and my son as people as well as mother and child. I’m a better parent for it and my partner and I talk through different ways of dealing with situations now. Our son knows I listen to him and is happier as a result.

Does it work?The effectiveness of VIPP-SD has been demonstrated in scientific research in different countries and for different groups. VIPP-SD was originally developed in the Netherlands and has been recognised as a proven and effective intervention by the Dutch Youth Institute, and is registered in the Effective Youth Interventions database. VIPP-SD is

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available to all adoptive families in the Netherlands. It is also recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in their guidelines on children’s attachment (November 2015).

How can I sign up for it?

If you are interested in taking part in VIPP-SD contact your local Adoption Team who can discuss a referral with you and make a referral, if appropriate, to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust who will deliver the programme. The VIPP-SD practitioner will then contact you to talk about the programme and answer any questions you may have.

What is the Tavistock Clinic?

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is known nationally and internationally for excellence in the mental health field and emotional wellbeing, our primary specialism is in children and families including services for looked after children. It is dedicated to the development and delivery of the highest standards in mental health treatment and promotion, education and training, organisational consultancy, and research.

The biggest positive for me is that it highlights how well I am doing, and that isn’t always at the forefront of my mind - I only remember the challenging behaviour. It’s a clear message that we are getting on together, and I don’t always see that. Hearing about the significance of the little signals gives me confidence in how well we are attaching.Quote from an adoptive parent

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