Explore the Potential and Principles of Open Dialogue:

One-Day Online Exploration of Open Dialogue

Explore the Potential and Principles of Open Dialogue: One-Day Online Exploration

We invite individuals, service teams and organisational leaders to learn about Open Dialogue and how implementing the approach will strengthen professional practice, and build and retain your workforce.

Join us for an informative and inspiring day with participants who work in mental health from around Australia to deepen your understanding of the Open Dialogue Approach.

Explore the skills and practice to understand what Open Dialogue can add to your work.

Gain an inspired overview of the origins, principles, elements, evidence-base and application potential of the Open Dialogue Approach across different services and settings – in Australia and globally.

The Open Dialogue Centre has expert facilitators, who will draw from their knowledge of Open Dialogue and its relationship to positive outcomes in mental health. Through their unique experiences, they will reflect on how Open Dialogue can have a practical application in different health contexts – in Australia and globally.

Some feedback from our past participants

‘It reinforced my opinion that Open Dialogue needs to be more widely considered and adopted in our mental health system.’
‘First and foremost, the way Mark held the space, responding to all participants, actually practicing the Open Dialogue approach in the room. This gave me an experience, not just a heap of theory. I also appreciated the exercises in listening and being heard. Hearing from folks implementing OD in practice contexts was also great.’
‘Workshop was well led - could see the correlation between how the workshop was run and hope Open Dialogue works at a practitioner level.’
‘Engaging, interactive, informative, warm.’
‘Face to face is always better but the presenters were knowledgeable and passionate and so it was easy to stay engaged.’
‘The real world examples - and opportunities to ask questions to those people - was so super helpful and there was enough time for this. Ordinarily these things are cut short and questions aren't always answered.’
‘…I feel as though the format of the workshop was conducive to a comprehensive introduction to Open Dialogue, it was interesting and engaging, it covered multiple areas where Open Dialogue can be used, there was opportunity to speak with people using the approach, to clarify any concerns, to work together and meet like-minded individuals... I thoroughly enjoyed it and gained a lot from it.’

About the Approach

Open Dialogue is a way of listening, of being present with a person and their network, and of ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard. It places relationships as foundational to prevention and recovery pathways through social network meetings.

It is recognised by the World Health Organisation as an approach that elevates the voice and agency of the individual and their rights – enabling responsive and compassionate care that involves family and community.

It is also a way to deliver on many of the priorities and recommendations that have been articulated in a number of Commissions, research papers and reviews into mental health.

You will learn about:
  • Develop your understanding of the positive outcomes for people, families and their social network.
  • Gain an understanding of what Open Dialogue is and why the World Health Organisation (WHO) references Open Dialogue as a way to address the many issues that are inherent in a bio-medically based mental health system.
  • The core principles of Open Dialogue and how they can be adapted to different clinical and non-clinical settings;
  • Unique and powerful ways to strengthen listening and responding;
  • The potential for more collaborative and coordinated ways of working;
  • The value of involving social networks and how they enable agency and voice to be elevated; and
  • Discover how Open Dialogue can support workforce transformation and coordination across services in a community.
Open Dialogue Centre

This workshop is ideal for mental health clinical practitioners, lived experience professionals and peer workers, school health and wellbeing coordinators, community leaders, and anyone interested in exploring how Open Dialogue can add to their work.

We will also touch on how the Centre is supporting the Open Dialogue network in Australia to unlock ongoing learning opportunities and you will be invited to be part of future opportunities that stem from our events and partnerships.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear more from our highly experienced facilitators:

Mark Hopfenbeck: Head of Training and Open Dialogue Trainer, Open Dialogue Centre

Tracy Lang: Bio Coming soon

Register now for this rewarding experience  – places are limited, via the registration form below

Facilitators: Mark Hopfenbeck and Tracy Lang
Date:
18th May 2026
Time:
9.00am to 3.00pm (AEST)
Cost:
$247.50 ($225 + GST)
Location:
Online (login details will be sent prior to the day)

If you are a Lived and Living Experience Worker(LLEW), reside in Victoria and would like to apply for a course Scholarship, please click on the button below to check your eligibility and apply. Scholarships are limited. 

Apply Now
Mark Hopfenbeck - Open Dialogue Centre

Mark Hopfenbeck, Head of Training at the Open Dialogue Centre,  who is a highly regarded trainer in Open Dialogue having spent the past 20 years training mental health teams in Norway, England, Portugal, Israel, Czechia.

Mark is currently lead trainer for the Post-graduate Certificate in Peer-supported Open Dialogue offered by North East London Foundation Trust and City St George’s, University of London. Mark spends most of his time collaborating with Open Dialogue researchers and practitioners around the world – supporting the development and dissemination of the Open Dialogue Approach. His core research interests have focused on integrating Open Dialogue with current models of recovery, collaborative care and peer support in order to facilitate the implementation of Open Dialogue within statutory mental health services as well as the development of organizational and clinical fidelity measures.

He is currently co-investigator involved in Open Dialogue: Development and Evaluation of a Social Network Intervention for Severe Mental Illness (ODDESSI) (2017-2025), and is the coordinator of the Advisory Board for HOPEnDialogue: An International collaborative multicentre research network to support the Open Dialogue learning community and evaluate the effectiveness of Open Dialogue in various mental health care contexts around the world (2019-2024).

He is also Individual Project Partner at the Collaborating Centre for Values-based Practice in Health and Social Care, St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford.

Mark is co-editor of The Practical Handbook of Hearing Voices (2021), The Practical Handbook of Eating Difficulties (2022) and The Practical Handbook of Living with Dementia (2022).

Tracy Lang Open Dialogue Centre

Tracy Lang is from Devon in the UK, and draws on her teaching background when developing and delivering Open Dialogue training. Tracy has been involved with both the ODDESSI trial and APOD study research sites.

Tracy has completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Peer‑Supported Open Dialogue, Social Network and Relationship Skills (POD). She brings lived experience as a family member to her work, helping to drive change in mental health services towards approaches that are compassionate and relational.

Drawing on her background in teaching, Tracy is involved in developing and delivering POD training within the Devon Partnership Trust . She has worked with both ODDESSI trial and APOD study research sites, supporting the practical application of Open Dialogue principles across training and service contexts.

Tracy is a co founder of ODISC, which is a collaboration between healthcare practitioners from the NHS involved in the ODDESSI trial, researchers based in the UK, and health, social care and education practitioners who are interested in the potential of Open Dialogue to be used in school settings and beyond.

Please complete the form below to register for this workshop

Registration Form

Payment Options

For direct transfer Bank Details are:
BSB: 082-356
Account: 24 100 7959
Please include your NAME as the reference

If you require an invoice for payment please advise via email
training@opendialoguecentre.org.au
Please note your booking will not be finalised until payment is received.

For Credit Card payments please select the Stripe payment button below.

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Your place is confirmed upon receipt of payment and your registration form. 

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