OPEN DIALOGUE: An Innovative and Inclusive Way to Emphasise Humanity - Understanding and working with people in personal, family and social contexts.

Most people enjoy being heard. If they engage in therapy, they need to be heard. Regretfully, the experiences of individuals are often unintentionally minimised and their realities denied, not only by family and friends but also by professionals. Not being heard, in turn, can increase a person’s feelings of aloneness and create a roadblock to their recovery.

Open Dialogue bridges this gap by aiming to understand an individual’s experience in the context of their family and social network, and by activating the person’s psychosocial resources.

Open Dialogue is a person-oriented approach, originally developed in Finland to help respond to and provide ongoing care for people experiencing psychosis and other mental health crises. Given its evidenced effectiveness in improving clinical and functional outcomes, Open Dialogue has since been used in a variety of mental health and social recovery settings in Scandinavia, the UK, and the US. In Australia, adaptations of Open Dialogue are being implemented at Alfred Health in Victoria and, in NSW, at Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, Nepean Blue Mountain LHD, and St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.

Open Dialogue uses a dialogue-centred approach in network meetings that include the individual and mental health practitioners, as well as members from the person’s family and social circle, and sometimes peer workers. In network meetings, the decision-making process is transparent (open) and emerges from all voices being listened to, being valued, and being responded to (dialogue).

Dialogical Practice is a key element of Open Dialogue and requires therapists to be present, mindful, sensitive in facilitating collaboration, able to sit with uncertainty, and skilled in responding and reflecting in a transparent manner. Dialogical Practice allows the individual, as well as members of their family and social network to be heard, to be empowered, and to be actively involved in the individual’s recovery process.

Watch this video to learn more about Open Dialogue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRjk4_ybCqU 

The training will provide an understanding of the Open Dialogue approach on a theoretical and practical level, including: (1) a brief overview of the approach and its application; (2) the seven underlying principles of Open Dialogue; (3) the twelve key elements of Dialogical Practice; (4) skills training in appreciative listening; and (5) skills training in dialogical practice.

The morning session of the training day will focus on theoretical aspects. The presentation style will be interactive and will include case studies and audio-visual material. The afternoon session will focus on participants practicing key elements of appreciative listening and Dialogical Practice. The afternoon will conclude with time for questions and for reflections on how these skills can be incorporated into participants’ clinical practice.

Watch and learn more HERE

References:

Buus, N., Bikic, A., Jacobsen, E. K., Muller-Nielsen, K., Aagaard, J., & Rossen, C. B. (2017). Adapting and          implementing Open Dialogue in the Scandinavian countries: A scoping review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 38(5), 391-401.

Olson, M, Seikkula, J. & Ziedonis, D. (2014). The key elements of dialogic practice in Open Dialogue. The University of Massachusetts Medical School. Worcester, MA.

Seikkula, J., Alakare, B., Aaltonen, J., Holma, J., Rasinkangas, A., & Lehtinen, K. (2003). Open Dialogue approach: Treatment principles and preliminary results of a two-year follow-up on first episode schizophrenia. Ethical Human Sciences and Services, 5(53), 163-182..