Guiders experiences of VIGVHT in child welfare services in Finland

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Guiders experiences of VIG/VHT in child welfare
services in Finland

• Maili Malin Aila Viinikainen
• The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare
• The Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Children
  and Young People
• The Rehabilitation and Development Center Huvitus
• Ruusulankatu 10, FIN-00260 Helsinki
• Aila.viinikainen_at_mll.fi Maili.malin_at_mll.fi

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FINLAND
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VIG IN FINLAND
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The structure of the presentation

• I Short history of VIG/VHT in Finland
• II Finnish trainers and guiders
• III The first survey to VIG/VHT guiders
• IV Making children visible

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I Short history of VIG/VHT in Finland

• VIDEO HOME TRAINING (VHT) FROM THE YEAR 1992
• Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) started
  to train family and social workers to use VHT.
• Our first trainer came from SPIN of Holland.
• VIDEO INTERACTION GUIDANCE (VIG) FROM THE YEAR
  1996

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Since the year 1996 the responsibility of
training and developing VHT/VIG has been in
MLLs The Rehabilitation and Development Center
Huvitus

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VHT - CLIENTS IN HUVITUS

• 1) Families in the public children welfare
  services (psycho-social family rehabilition)
• 2) Families with children with neurological
  or/and psychological disorders
• 3) Families, children and young people for whom
  individual rehabilitation has been planned
  together with a hospital, local authority or an
  organization

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VIG-CLIENTS IN HUVITUS

• Groups of parents and children/young people
  (reorientation courses for families,
  rehabilitation and coping assessment periods for
  youngsters)
• In supervising workers to strengthen their
  professional and social skills

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THE MAIN TOOLS USED IN HUVITUS

• Solution oriented and empowering working method
• Family discussions
• Parents groups
• Childrens activity groups
• Experiental methods (adventure, music)
• Training of everyday activities

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To deliver VIG/VHT

• VHT/VIG method was mainly trained only for the
  workers of Huvitus and Mannerheim League (MLL)
  during the years 19961998.
• The first plan of training of VHT to outsiders
  was made in the year 1998. In the same year the
  first supervisors and trainers were certified in
  Huvitus.
• When starting to train and supervise workers
  outside Huvitus and MLL was very important for
  the development of VHT/VIG in Finland. Now
  VHT/VIG is used in different kind of work where
  human relation skills are needed ( guiding,
  teaching, rehabilitating)

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PROFESSIONS TRAINED IN VHT/VIG

• Family and social workers for Child Welfare
• Family workers in Prevental Familywork
• Nurses and psycologists in Hospitals for
  Psychiatric Children and in Health Care
• Special teachers in schools and kindergartens
• Workers in different kind of Child and Family
  Centers

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II Finnish trainers and guidersin 2006

• Trainers (n4)
• Supervisors (n6)
• Independent guiders (n30)
• Participants in Basic skill course for VHT/VIG
  (n130)
• Participants in Introductory Training courses
  (n150)

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Structure of training VHT/VIG in Finland
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III The first survey to VIG/VHT guiders

• Respondents background characteristics
• General experiences about VIG/VHT
• The strenghts of the VIG/VHT
• When VIG/VHT works and when it does not work
• The guiders perceptions of the parents
  children
• VIG/VHTs effects on the attitudes and
  interaction of professionals and families

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The survey

• Is part of the development work of VIG/VHT
• Concerns questions about guiders use of VIG/VHT,
  her/his experiences, experienced strengths,
  weaknesses, challenges, motivations, client
  groups, work context issues, supervision,
  evaluation, needs for supplement education (and
  the areas).
• Spring 2006 totally 124 survey were sent
• Until mid June 52 guiders have answered
• Second reminder in the end of July

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Respondents background characteristics

• The working area
• Family rehabilition 18
• Child welfare service, non-institutional care
  12
• Public child welfare service in the institutional
  care 7
• Institutional psychiatric care for children 2
• Other 10
• Daycare 2
• Family center 1
• Number of clients (individuals and groups)
• -9 20
• 10- 19 18
• 20 13

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General experiences about VIG/VHT

• 1) Good, positive and interesting experiences
• 2) Functioning working method ? it effects
• ? gives new perspectives to the work
• ? rewarding in the professional context that
  normally is talk centered
• BUT can one with positive orientation approach
  difficult and negative issues (badness of the
  parent and suffering of the child)?
• 3) Strengthen professional skills when used in
  self-evaluation

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• It is good because
• 1) It is so powerful touching all senses
• 2) Clip is at the same time concrete, sensitive
  and illuminating for a parent and for a guider ?
  picture confirms in addition with the talk makes
  process lively
• 2) Method is client centred
• 3) It empowers the parent
• 4) More comprehensible for a parent? learns new
  ways of interacting

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• But the experieced challenges are
• 1) The working context colleagues negative
  attitudes toward the VIG/VHT lack of support,
  lack of networks
• 2) It takes long time to learn it and to carry it
  out
• 3) It is difficult to motivate those families
  with many different problems
• 4) It necessiates good competence from the guider

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The strenghts of the VIG/VHT

• 1) It is client centred
• respecting
• based on the involvement and participation of
  the family members
• equal/non-hierachial relationship with guider
• connected with the every day life of a family
• near the familys spoken language
• 2) Makes the child and her/his views and
  experiences visible

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• 3) Makes the importance of parents visible for
  themselves
• 4) Shows how important the action and interaction
  of the parents are for the children
• 5) It is focused (solution centered, empowering)
• 6) It shows to the parents that they can and they
  do
• 7) It empowers both parents and guiders
• It gives joy to work and decreases stress
• Every time means a possibility of learning for a
  guider

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• 8) It is so postive strengthen the self-esteem
  of parents
• 9) Motivate a parent for positive change
• 10) It supports and strengthen the parenting
• 11) It is the method for learning and
  self-scrutinising for parents
• 12) It is neutral it does not accuse anybody
• 13) It touches also the dark side of life
• (in long processes, time to construct confidence,
  family secrects)
• 14) VHT/VIG is suitable in many areas the
  possibility to prevent social and psychological
  problems and to learn in work

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• 15) The power of the clip
• Sensitive
• Visual
• Concrete
• Illuminating
• Understandable
• Quick (in short processes)
• Unique, honest
• It tells more than 1000 words
• Good base for the conversation
• Shareable with many
• Review and repeat

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VIG/VHT works

• 1) If its target is set by parents
• 2) With the certain type of families ? But it
  suits for various family situations it may
  activate every body
• 3) When it is carried out in the right time

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Preferred characteristics of the parents

• 1) Parents understand their responsibility and
  importance for their children
• 2) Parents are brave enough being videotaped and
  having feedback
• 3) Parents mental health is good enough
• 4) Parents do not have acute addiction problem
• 5) Parents are not too tired
• 6) They are motivated and commited to the
  co-operation
• 7) They have some psychosocial abilities

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How VIG/VHT has affected to the attitudes and
interaction of guiders?

• Positively
• VIG/VHT has confirmed their attitudes
• Attitudes has become more positive
• Every body has some resources and life skills
• They rely on parents
• They has learned more interaction skills
• They use the VIG/VHT-principles in everyday
  interaction
• Has strengthen the relationship between guider
  and parent

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How VIG/VHT has affected to the attitudes and
interaction of parents?

• One can see in one own eyes that changes
  happens
• Family interaction improves
• Parents may empower themselves deeply
• Awake and surprise parents that they can do and
  they do
• Parents awareness of their own skills increase
• Children are more visible in the families

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How long lasting are changes in family
interaction?

• Quite long lasting (n7)
• Difficult to say or evaluate (n14)
• Change does not depend on the method (or one
  method) (n1)

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Reservations

• Changes in interaction depends on the family
• It is only a method (whose aims depends on the
  wider context and aims of the child welfare
  service paggages of each family)
• The basic problems of the parents had to be
  solved first before long lasting interactional
  changes may happen
• It may be superficial amusement when done in
  institutional settings good memories for the
  family outside of the everyday life

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Conclusions

• For a guider it gives new and more positive
  perspective to family
• Little critisism, mainly postive experiences
• 3) Awarness of the own professional behaviour has
  increased
• 4) They use principles of VIG/VHT in everyday
  life
• 5) Effectiveness may depend
• on the professional organisational culture of a
  guider
• on the place of VIG/VHT
• ? on the duration of the VIG/VHT process
• ? on a guiders competence and experiences using
  VIG/VHT

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• 6) It is one method among different kinds of
  tools
• 7) Guider is one professional among
  multiprofessional services in child welfare ?
  need of co-operation, need of shared language
  also with a family, need of case-management
• 8)The place and time of VIG/VHT among the child
  welfare services?

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IV Making children visible

• Our mission TO FIND MORE JOY, HAPPINES AND
  SAFETY FOR the LIFE OF CHILDREN

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THE CHALLENGES IN FUTURE

• Increasing interests about VHT/VIG one of the
  best available methods to make children visible
  for adults
• 1) The need of preventive working methods/tools
• 2) The need of tools for self-evaluation for
  professionals
• 3) The need to support the work in
  multiprofessional teams
• By increasing and deepening continuous
  interaction with seniors and juniors
• By means to develop the organisation and
  realising the training, supervision and
  supplement education
• Networking, peer support and informing by own
  www-pages
• ? Quality assurance