Christine Morgan - our new Board member - shares her view on why we need new approaches in mental health and how ODC is collaborating to enable systemic change.

“There is now widespread acceptance that the mental health system and its services are not meeting people’s needs. There is an imperative – with social and economic drivers behind it – to doing things differently. We need better outcomes. Open Dialogue is a framework that can open up innovation opportunities not just within a service, but throughout our system. The approach is also very practical in that it enables family and friends to be present with the person and their clinical team. Importantly with Open Dialogue, the true meaning of person-centred is realised.  It requires the system to work with the person – not on the person. The outcome is a more sustainable, individually-led recovery journey for the person.”

• What are your thoughts about the Open Dialogue Centre’s strategy to make Open Dialogue more widely available to people in Australia? 

“ODC is focusing on enabling and showcasing the Open Dialogue approach to mental health and wellbeing across three key settings where people live, learn and work – and therefore where they experience mental health challenges.  In piloting the Open Dialogue approach in schools, clinical settings, and local communities we can all demonstrate how involving family and community makes a real difference to the mental health outcomes of people.  Over and above that, ODC’s new strategy highlights how Open Dialogue can be incorporated into each of those settings – paving the way to identify the policies and system adjustments required to ensure we are embedding agency, voice and lived experience into how mental health and suicide prevention services are delivered in Australia.”