Melbourne Open Dialogue Training workshops

As part of the Open Dialogue Centre’s commitment to supporting individuals, organisations, and teams in adopting the Open Dialogue approach, the Centre will run half-day and four full day ‘open’ training workshops in Melbourne on October 21 and November 21 – 24, respectively.

The training will introduce attendees to the Open Dialogue approach and its core theoretical principles while allowing participants to reflect on how the principles may apply within their work settings.

The Centre is working with organisations across Australia to build the capacity of teams to prioritise early intervention and improve the outcomes for people experiencing mental distress or crisis.

In Victoria, the Centre recognises a demand for innovative approaches that are person-centred and recovery-oriented and acknowledge the voice of people with lived experience. The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System presents an opportunity for people trained in Open Dialogue to support the implementation of the 65 recommendations. 

The core Open Dialogue principles can be used with different emphasis and expression, depending on the needs of your organisation and the unique circumstances of individuals and families.

Our ‘open’ training workshops enable participants to:

• explore how Open Dialogue can create better connections between services, individuals and their families or supporters.

• take their learnings back to their practice or work environments with new insights.

• think about how Open Dialogue can be used for significant mental health challenges or as an early intervention system of care; and

• consider how Open Dialogue principles can address gaps between services.

The trainings will be delivered by our expert trainers, Niels Buus, Campbell-Thorpe, and Rachel Barbara-May.

Campbell is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Head of Clinical Services headspace Early Psychosis Program, consultant psychiatrist at Victorian Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders, and supervisor in family therapy at Mindful Centre for Training and Research in Developmental Health, University of Melbourne.

Niels is the Professor of Nursing at Monash University, a mental health nurse and specialist in qualitative research and qualitative research methodology with a keen interest in the adoption, implementation, and practices of Open Dialogue and similar systemic approaches to psychotherapies.

Rachel is a social worker with experience in child and youth mental health, the family and dialogical practices lead at South-East Melbourne headspace Youth Early Psychosis Program and Eating Disorders Clinical Lead at Alfred Health. She is a family therapy and Open Dialogue practitioner, trainer, and supervisor.

The Centre welcomes anyone who would like to learn more about Open Dialogue, including family members, carers, peers, health professionals, service designers, policy writers, government officials, funders, and others.

Click on the link below to register to attend the October or November sessions.

Register