Viscero-Autonomic Emotional Integration™ framework (VAEI)

Most pain, fatigue, and emotional dysregulation aren't random. They're maintained by a specific feedback loop operating between your visceral organs, your autonomic nervous system, your emotional history, and your lifestyle foundation.

The VAEI assessment maps your symptoms across all four levels — and generates a personalised results page showing exactly where your loop is most active and what you can do about it right now.

25 questions. Takes 5–8 minutes. No fluff — just a clear clinical picture and practical next steps.

VAEI body assessment

A four-level clinical assessment based on the Viscero-Autonomic Emotional Integration framework. Takes 5-8 minutes. Identifies which levels of the VAEI loop are most active and exactly what you can do about it.

Level 1 - visceral substrate

Physical and pain patterns

Rate each from 0 (not at all) to 4 (severely or constantly).

1.My pain or discomfort shifts location - it moves between areas rather than staying in one place.

Not at allSeverely

2.I have pain or tension in the right shoulder, right-sided upper back, or right ribcage area.

Not at allSeverely

3.I have lower back, hip, or pelvic pain that does not fully resolve with structural treatment.

Not at allSeverely

4.My pain or tension fluctuates with stress, emotional state, or food more than with physical activity.

Not at allSeverely

5.I experience digestive symptoms alongside my other symptoms - bloating, constipation, reflux, or gut sensitivity.

Not at allSeverely

6.My breathing feels restricted or shallow, or I catch myself holding my breath without realising.

Not at allSeverely

7.Treatment has helped my symptoms temporarily, but they keep returning to roughly the same pattern.

Not at allSeverely

Level 2 - autonomic regulation

Nervous system and autonomic state

These questions assess how regulated or dysregulated your nervous system currently is. Rate each from 0 to 4.

8.I feel chronically tired even after adequate sleep - as if rest does not fully restore me.

Not at allSeverely

9.I find it difficult to fully relax - even in safe comfortable situations I feel a background tension or vigilance.

Not at allSeverely

10.My sleep is disrupted - difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking unrefreshed.

Not at allSeverely

11.I experience palpitations, racing heart, or noticeable changes in heart rate at rest.

Not at allSeverely

12.My symptoms are noticeably worse after periods of sustained stress, even when the stress has passed.

Not at allSeverely

13.I notice significant differences in blood pressure or circulation between my left and right sides.

Not at all / unsureSignificant difference

Level 3 - emotional history and pattern

Emotional experience and history

These questions explore the emotional layer of the VAEI loop. Rate from 0 to 4, then answer the open questions briefly.

14.I experience anxiety, emotional reactivity, or overwhelm that seems disproportionate to the immediate situation.

Not at allConstantly

15.I feel emotionally flat, distant from my own experience, or as if life has less colour or vitality than it used to.

Not at allConstantly

16.I have done significant psychological work but notice something physical that has not shifted with it.

Not at allVery much

17.There was a period in my life even years before my symptoms began of sustained stress, loss, threat, or overwhelm.

Not at allSignificantly

18.Briefly describe what was happening in your life in the 1-3 years before your current pattern began. (Optional)

19.Where in your body do you most often notice tension or restriction beyond the main site of pain? (Optional)

Level 4 - foundational substrate

Lifestyle and biological environment

These questions assess the foundational biological context within which all other interventions operate. Rate from 0 to 4.

20.My sleep is consistently poor - fewer than 7 hours, frequently disrupted, or rarely restorative.

Not at allSeverely

21.My diet regularly includes processed food, refined sugar, alcohol, or foods I suspect do not agree with me.

Not at allRegularly

22.My daily environment involves ongoing stress, conflict, or a chronic sense of not feeling safe or settled.

Not at allConstantly

23.I have limited access to genuine connection or relationships in which I feel truly seen and safe.

Not at allSignificantly

24.I have a limited sense of meaning, purpose, or direction in my life currently.

Not at allSignificantly

25.Anything else about your situation that feels relevant but has not been captured above? (Optional)

Section 1 of 4

Your VAEI assessment

This is a clinical reasoning tool, not a diagnosis. Results map your responses onto the four VAEI levels and show exactly what you can do now at each tier.

Loop activation by level

Clinical summary

What you can do now

Ready to work on what your body has been holding?

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This assessment is an educational and clinical reasoning tool based on the VAEI framework developed by Matthew Sorensen, CHEK Faculty and Advanced Barral Institute Practitioner. It is not a medical diagnosis. healhub.net