The tectonic plates of mental health care are gradually shifting. Although the biomedical model has been dominant in recent decades, we are starting to see increasing conversations about providing more holistic and person-centred support to children and adolescence.

We have come a long way, but we need to do better. There is an increasing demand on services by young people, exacerbated by the pandemic, and a dire need for innovative models that focus on early intervention and prevention.

Open Dialogue is an innovative and human-centred way of engaging with young people who experience mental ill-health. It was founded in Finland over 50 years ago, with increasing interest globally, including more recently in Australia.

Open Dialogue acknowledges the young person as an expert in their own life and promotes the involvement of a ‘social network,’ instead of relying on a single clinician. Initial assessment focuses on the young person’s experience and relationships, instead of a diagnosis. It shifts the focus on early intervention and prevention and supports them to find their own solutions and heal while engaging in dialogue.

International evaluations on outcomes have found a reduction in relapse and hospitalisation, psychiatric symptoms, adverse incidents (including suicide), use of psychiatric medication, and an overall increase in satisfaction with services. In Australia, Open Dialogue has been adapted in a wide variety of settings, from schools and organisations working with those at-risk, to primary and tertiary mental health services providing more acute support.

This presentation will share more about Open Dialogue, including its origins and key principles, how the approach has been implemented globally, and its adaption to the Australian context. Key findings from current research of the implementation of Open Dialogue as an early intervention model will be shared, within a school and mental health service.