OPEN DIALOGUE

As a practising clinician, Judith has been at the forefront of bringing the dialogical approach, as based on Finnish Open Dialogue, into the family therapy field in Australia.

In brief, Open Dialogue (OD) is a system of mental health care, which originated in Finland in the 1980’s in response to the psychiatric care of patients with psychosis. It has since been found to be applicable to a variety of difficult relational situations. The Open Dialogue system of care supports clinical teams in upholding the seven principles of: immediate help, social network, flexibility and mobility, responsibility, psychological continuity, tolerating uncertainty, dialogism. The clinical teams in turn, support the clients and families, with therapeutic work being informed by dialogical practice. Dialogical practice is a therapeutic way of being in the room which is supported by sophisticated and nuanced clinical skills.

In 2010 Judith completed an introductory week-long training in the USA. This was followed in 2011 by a two-week period of observation of clinical practice at Keropudas Hospital Tornio in Finland, learning from practitioners at the source of Open Dialogue and dialogical practice. A further two-week visit to Tromso Norway gave an increased understanding of the unique work of Tom Andersen and reflective processes.

Since this earliest exposure to the dialogical approach to family therapy, Judith has attended numerous international trainings and conferences in Belguim, Finland, Norway and the UK. She has trained and presented nationally and internationally on Open Dialogue and the approach to clinical practice and research. She has written extensively on Open Dialogue and dialogical practice in family therapy and research, including the co-editing of a special edition on Open Dialogue and dialogical practice with Kristof Mikes-Liu, for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. For details of the focus of these papers click here.

Between 2016 and 2018 Judith completed the international trainers’ training in Finland, a training for clinicians by clinicians. Comprising eight week-long blocks, the training included theory, clinical supervision, small group family-of-origin sessions, peer discussion, research and writing. Trainers included those who originated, developed and/or currently practice Open Dialogue and dialogical practice in Finland. Judith joined with trainees from UK, Germany, Italy, Finland, Austria, Japan, and USA.

Judith is the only Australian to have travelled to Finland to both observe the practice of Open Dialogue (Tornio, 2011) and be trained in Open Dialogue and Dialogical Practice (Helsinki, 2016-2018). She is internationally accredited by Dialogic Partners and University of Jyväskylä, Finland to supervise and train clinicians and family therapists in Open Dialogue and dialogical practice. This is the most advanced worldwide training in Open Dialogue, which continues to inform Judith’s practice, training and supervision in Open Dialogue and Dialogical Practice.

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