The challenges of introducing Open Dialogue into a UK Early Intervention in Psychosis Service

Abstract

The principles and values of Open Dialogue (OD) seemed to fit closely with ours and reflected the way in which psychotic professionals wanted to work. However, the culture of dialogic practice felt so different from that in which they worked, and the organisational changes required to move towards an OD system seemed so great, that it felt virtually impossible to achieve. the positive outcomes for people with a first episode of psychosis published by the OD team in Western Lapland significantly exceed anything produced by early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services. OD and EIP appeared to psychotic professionals to be a good fit, because they share some important values and principles, such as the central involvement of family members, carers and other important members of the social network. Once the training was underway, psychotic professionals worked together with service users who requested the involvement of their families, using the concept of ‘network meetings’.