HOPEnDialogue
HOPEnDialogue: An International collaborative multicentre research to support the Open Dialogue Learning Community and evaluate the effectiveness of Open Dialogue in various mental health care contexts around the world
The HOPEnDialogue project is an international project coordinated by the ISTC-CNR aimed at investigating the mental health approach knows as Open Dialogue (OD).
Among the most innovative therapeutic interventions in mental health care in recent decades, Open Dialogue supports the recovery of individuals facing mental health challenges through the active involvement of their network. Grounded in attentive listening and respect for every voice —especially that of the person at the centre of concern, but also including their family members, friends, and professionals—OD fosters transparent, inclusive processes in which decisions are shared as much as possible. Beyond its therapeutic approach, a core element of Open Dialogue is the organisation of mental health services to prioritise immediate, community-based care over hospitalisation.
The Open Dialogue approach was developed through a close integration of clinical practice and research, which allowed for the systematic documentation of remarkable outcomes in Western Lapland (Finland), where it originated. Encouraged by these promising outcomes, OD has since been implemented in mental health services worldwide. However, inconsistencies in outcome measures and implementation strategies have so far prevented sound conclusions about OD’s transferability and effectiveness across different contexts.
The HOPEnDialogue project was established in 2019 with the aim of assessing the fidelity of Open Dialogue practice —that is, the extent to which OD implementations worldwide replicate the original approach—and evaluate the feasibility of an international effectiveness study. HOPEnDialogue was inspired by- and linked to the ODDESSI study, the first randomised trial of Open Dialogue, recently concluded in the UK.
During the first two years of the project, HOPEnDialogue researchers mapped and described Open Dialogue centres worldwide through a global survey involving 142 services across 24 countries. The results of this study were published Frontiers in Psychology. In 2022, the international HOPEnDialogue feasibility study began, involving five mental health centres in France, Germany, and Italy. This study aimed to define and test an international protocol applicable across different centres and countries. Data collection has been completed, and the results are expected to be published soon.
Beyond its core research and scientific activities, HOPEnDialogue has played an active role in supporting the Open Dialogue community's evolution into a scientific community through research consultancy and both online and in-person events. Notably, the project organised the 3rd “Meeting of the International Open Dialogue Research Collaboration” in 2021 and the 27th “International Network Meeting for the Treatment of Psychosis” in 2023, and coordinated a Research Topic dedicated to Open Dialogue published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Since its beginning in 2019, HOPEnDialogue has been funded by the Open Excellence Foundation (previously Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care). The project involves an International Advisory Board of different stakeholders such as researchers, peer supporters, family members, trainers, professionals, and experts in public health from eleven different countries, who contribute to its development and sustainability.
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