Open Dialogue
Open Dialogue is a therapeutic approach to mental health treatment that originated in Finland. It is characterised by its emphasis on immediate and comprehensive communication among the individual experiencing a mental health crisis, their family members or social network, and mental health professionals. The approach aims to create a collaborative and supportive environment that addresses mental health challenges and promotes recovery. Fundamental principles of the Open Dialogue approach include:
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Immediate Help: Open Dialogue aims to aid promptly, often within 24 hours of a crisis, to prevent escalation and establish a supportive network around the individual in distress.
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Social Network Involvement: Family members, friends, and other significant people in the individual's life are actively involved in the treatment process. Their perspectives and experiences are considered valuable in understanding the context of the crisis and developing an appropriate response.
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Flexibility and Responsiveness: Open Dialogue is flexible in its approach, tailoring its response to each person's unique needs and situation. There is no standard treatment protocol, and interventions are tailored to each individual's specific circumstances.
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Tolerance of Uncertainty: Practitioners of Open Dialogue acknowledge that uncertainty is inherent in mental health crises. They are open to hearing different perspectives and are willing to collaboratively navigate the complexities of the situation.
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Dialogical Approach: Open dialogue is characterised by genuine dialogue, active listening, and respectful communication among all participants. The goal is to create a safe space where individuals can express their feelings, concerns, and experiences openly.
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Avoidance of Hospitalisation: Open Dialogue aims to reduce the need for hospitalisation and inpatient care by offering intensive support and treatment in the individual's home or community setting.
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Continuity of Care: Open Dialogue promotes continuity of care by maintaining the same team of professionals throughout the treatment process, fostering familiarity and trust.
The Open Dialogue approach has garnered worldwide attention and interest for its person-centred and family-inclusive approach to mental health treatment. It aligns with recovery-oriented and strengths-based perspectives, recognising the importance of social connections and support systems in healing.
The International Open Dialogue Network is a global network that connects practitioners, researchers, trainers, and organisations working with the Open Dialogue approach across multiple countries. It focuses on sharing knowledge, supporting implementation, and strengthening collaboration between Open Dialogue initiatives worldwide, helping to grow the model as an international movement while maintaining its core principles of dialogue, relational care, and network-based support.
International Open Dialogue Network
Open Dialogue International Foundation
The Open Dialogue International Foundation is a global organisation that supports the development, research, and international implementation of the Open Dialogue approach across multiple countries. It focuses on building a coordinated global movement by supporting training, research collaboration, and system-level adoption, helping ensure the Open Dialogue model is applied with fidelity while expanding its reach as a relational, network-based approach to mental health care.
HOPEnDialogue
The HOPEnDialogue is an international research collaboration that maps and evaluates Open Dialogue services worldwide, examining how the approach is implemented across different countries and contexts. It focuses on assessing fidelity to Open Dialogue principles, understanding variations in practice, and generating evidence on outcomes—helping build a global evidence base to support the model’s expansion and integration into mental health systems.
University of Jyväskylä Open Dialogue Research
The University of Jyväskylä Open Dialogue Research is a Finland-based academic research initiative that has played a central role in studying and developing the Open Dialogue approach. It focuses on evaluating outcomes, refining the theoretical foundations of dialogic practice, and contributing to the global evidence base—particularly through research on early psychosis, network-based care, and long-term recovery associated with Open Dialogue in Western Lapland.
The Institute for Dialogic Practice is a United States–based organisation that provides training, consultation, and supervision in the Open Dialogue approach and dialogic practice. It focuses on developing practitioners and organisations in network-based, relational ways of working, supporting the implementation of Open Dialogue principles in mental health, community services, and beyond.
The Open Dialogue Centre is an Australia-based organisation dedicated to advancing the Open Dialogue approach through training, research, and system transformation initiatives. It focuses on building workforce capability, supporting implementation across services, and promoting dialogic, network-based care as an alternative to traditional mental health models within the Australian context.
The Western Lapland Open Dialogue is the original implementation of the Open Dialogue approach, developed in Western Lapland, Finland, within the public mental health system. It provides immediate, network-based care by bringing together the person in distress, their family, and professionals in shared meetings, focusing on dialogue, continuity of care, and tolerance of uncertainty rather than diagnosis-driven treatment. It is globally recognised for its outcomes—particularly in early psychosis—showing reduced hospitalisation, lower reliance on medication, and strong long-term recovery rates, making it the foundational model for Open Dialogue worldwide.
Western Lapland Open Dialogue
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is Finland’s national public health and welfare authority responsible for research, policy development, and the oversight of health and social services. In the context of Open Dialogue, it has supported the evaluation, scaling, and integration of dialogic and community-based mental health approaches within Finland’s broader system, helping translate the Western Lapland model into national policy and practice.
The Open Dialogue UK is a United Kingdom–based organisation that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, research, and implementation support across mental health services. It works to build a national network of practitioners and organisations, supporting the adoption of dialogic, network-based care and helping integrate Open Dialogue principles into the UK’s mental health system.
Open Dialogue UK
Peer-Supported Open Dialogue (POD) NHS
The Peer-Supported Open Dialogue (POD) NHS is a United Kingdom–based adaptation of the Open Dialogue approach within the NHS that integrates peer support workers into dialogic mental health care teams. It combines Open Dialogue principles—such as network meetings, shared decision-making, and tolerance of uncertainty—with lived experience expertise, creating a more relational, recovery-oriented model of care that bridges clinical services and peer support.
Dialogue First
The Dialogue First is a United Kingdom–based organisation that provides training and consultancy in the Open Dialogue approach and dialogic practice. It focuses on developing practitioners and services to work in more relational, network-based ways, supporting the implementation of Open Dialogue principles across mental health, social care, and community settings.
The Open Dialogue Centre UK is a United Kingdom–based organisation that supports the implementation and growth of the Open Dialogue approach through training, research, and service development. It focuses on building workforce capability, maintaining fidelity to dialogic principles, and helping mental health services transition toward more relational, network-based models of care.
Open Dialogue Centre UK
The Developing Open Dialogue is a United Kingdom–based initiative focused on supporting the growth and implementation of the Open Dialogue approach within mental health services. It works to develop training pathways, build practitioner networks, and promote dialogic, network-based care, helping services transition toward more relational and person-centred ways of working aligned with Open Dialogue principles.
Open Dialogue - Kent and Medway Mental Health
The Open Dialogue - Kent and Medway Mental Health is a United Kingdom–based NHS initiative that implements the Open Dialogue approach within mental health services across Kent and Medway. It brings together individuals in distress, their families, and practitioners in network meetings, focusing on shared understanding, continuity of care, and relational support rather than traditional diagnosis-driven treatment.
Academy of Peer Supported Open Dialogue
The Academy of Peer Supported Open Dialogue is a United Kingdom–based organisation dedicated to training and developing practitioners in the Peer-Supported Open Dialogue (POD) approach. It focuses on integrating lived experience into Open Dialogue practice, building workforce capability, and supporting the delivery of dialogic, network-based care that combines clinical and peer perspectives within mental health services.
The Open Dialogue USA is a United States–based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, collaboration, and advocacy across mental health systems. It focuses on building a community of practitioners and organisations implementing dialogic, network-based care, supporting the adaptation of Open Dialogue within diverse US contexts while maintaining its core principles.
Open Dialogue USA
The Massachusetts Open Dialogue Initiative is a United States–based initiative focused on developing and implementing the Open Dialogue approach within mental health services across Massachusetts. It supports training, service development, and collaboration among practitioners and organisations, promoting dialogic, network-based care and helping adapt Open Dialogue principles within local community and clinical settings.
Massachusetts Open Dialogue Initiative
Open Dialogue Australia
The Open Dialogue Australia is an Australia-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, collaboration, and implementation support across mental health services. It focuses on building a community of practitioners, supporting service transformation, and embedding dialogic, network-based care within the Australian mental health system.
The Northern Beaches Open Dialogue Pilot is an Australia-based pilot program that implemented the Open Dialogue approach within community mental health services in the Northern Beaches region of New South Wales. It brought together individuals in distress, their families, and practitioners in network meetings, focusing on early intervention, shared understanding, and continuity of care, while exploring how Open Dialogue could be adapted within the Australian public mental health system.
Northern Beaches Open Dialogue Pilot
Dialogic Practice Institute
The Dialogic Practice Institute is a Canada-based organisation that provides training, consultation, and supervision in Open Dialogue and broader dialogic practices. It focuses on developing practitioners and services to work in relational, network-based ways, supporting the implementation of dialogic approaches across mental health, community services, and organisational settings.
Open Dialogue Aotearoa
The Open Dialogue Spain is a Spain-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, practitioner collaboration, and service implementation. It focuses on building a community of professionals and organisations working with dialogic, network-based care, supporting the adaptation of Open Dialogue principles within Spanish mental health and community service contexts.
Open Dialogue Spain
The Open Dialogue Portugal is a Portugal-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, collaboration, and emerging service implementation. It focuses on building practitioner capacity and adapting dialogic, network-based care within Portuguese mental health and community settings, contributing to the broader European expansion of Open Dialogue.
Open Dialogue Portugal
The Open Dialogue Norway is a Norway-based initiative that promotes and implements the Open Dialogue approach within mental health services through training, practice development, and system integration. It focuses on embedding dialogic, network-based care into public mental health systems, supporting practitioners to work relationally with individuals and their social networks while maintaining continuity and shared understanding.
Open Dialogue Norway
The Open Dialogue Germany is a Germany-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, practitioner collaboration, and service implementation across mental health and social care settings. It focuses on adapting dialogic, network-based care within the German context, supporting professionals to integrate Open Dialogue principles into practice while contributing to the broader European expansion of the model.
Open Dialogue Germany
The Open Dialogue Italy is an Italy-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, collaboration, and implementation within mental health services.
It focuses on integrating dialogic, network-based care into Italy’s community-oriented mental health system, aligning closely with the country’s strong tradition of deinstitutionalisation and relational approaches to care.
Open Dialogue Italy
The Open Dialogue Sweden is a Sweden-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, practitioner collaboration, and service implementation within mental health and community settings. It focuses on embedding dialogic, network-based care into services, supporting professionals to work relationally with individuals and their social networks while adapting Open Dialogue principles to the Swedish context.
Open Dialogue Sweden
Open Dialogue Denmark
The National Open Dialogue Programme Ireland is an Ireland-based national programme that supports the development and implementation of the Open Dialogue approach within public mental health services. It focuses on workforce training, service transformation, and embedding dialogic, network-based care across the Irish mental health system, helping shift practice toward more relational, person-centred, and recovery-oriented models.
National Open Dialogue Programme Ireland
Open Dialogue Japan
The Open Dialogue Japan is a Japan-based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, research, and practitioner collaboration across mental health and community settings. It focuses on adapting dialogic, network-based care within the Japanese context, building a growing community of practitioners and contributing to the international expansion of Open Dialogue.
The Open Dialogue Korea is a South Korea–based network that promotes and develops the Open Dialogue approach through training, practitioner collaboration, and emerging service implementation. It focuses on introducing and adapting dialogic, network-based care within Korean mental health services, building local capacity while contributing to the broader global expansion of Open Dialogue.
Open Dialogue Korea
The ICCP (International Certificate in Collaborative-Dialogic Practices) Network
The ICCP (International Certificate in Collaborative-Dialogic Practices) Network is co-hosted by The Houston Galveston Institute and The Taos Institute. It is an interdisciplinary program that provides an intensive, in-depth study of postmodern-social construction-relational theory and the possibilities for personal, organizational, and social transformation that flow from this orientation. The program focuses on the theoretical and philosophical assumptions of collaborative-dialogic practices as transformational and the application within and across disciplines, contexts, and cultures. Practice examples include working with personal and social issues, in educational contexts, organizations, research, community work, healthcare, and more.
The Lived Experience Hub has identified 32 organisations within the Open Dialogue ecosystem, however this represents only a fraction of what exists globally. With at least 142 Open Dialogue teams operating across 24 countries by 2022, the approach is no longer localised—it is emerging as a global movement
Unlike models such as Clubhouse, which scale through standardised replication of a defined service structure, Open Dialogue scales differently. It expands as a relational architecture, embedding itself across diverse settings including clinical services, training organisations, crisis alternatives, and public mental health systems. This means Open Dialogue is not confined to a single organisational form, but instead operates as a pattern of practice that can be adapted across contexts while maintaining its core principles of dialogue, network-based care, and shared meaning-making.
As the ecosystem continues to grow, there is increasing potential for greater coordination and standardisation—particularly through shared training frameworks, fidelity measures, and global networks. Over time, this could enable Open Dialogue to evolve into a coherent global system of interconnected organisations and initiatives, forming a distributed yet unified approach to mental health care worldwide.
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