Abstract
The Open Dialogue (OD) approach is a philosophical system theory approach for working with people in a mental health crisis. It was developed in Finland 30 years ago and greatly improved outcomes for people experiencing psychosis, many of whom returned to work and normal life. This approach maintains that admission to a psychiatric hospital is not the result of symptoms, but happens when the person in crisis is no longer attuned to others in his environment. Medication and admission are postponed while meetings with the person's whole network take place. Clinicians learn to sit and be present with people's distress also bringing the family and their network into the room. It involves not jumping to conclusions, tolerating uncertainties and instead just being present with the experience. Peer-supported Open Dialogue (POD) emerged in England in 2015, a development combining the OD approach with mindfulness. It is based on the core values of openness, authenticity and unconditional warmth and is supported by peers with lived experience of mental health crisis. Hundreds of people have been trained, and in England, a cluster randomised trial across six sites with over 500 participants is underway. The chapter presents the experiences with OD of three healthcare professionals and a peer worker with lived experience of psychosis who benefitted from the practice of mindfulness and OD.
Published Version
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