Spring has (finally) arrived, and so have more updates from the APOD team! We have exciting developments to report across our research sites and from travels abroad.

Coastal West Country site

In addition to our London ‘Presentation of Findings’ event in September 2023, our Coastal West Country-based team is planning a presentation of findings event in coordination with the local ODDESSI team and Trust research office for December 2023 (exact date TBD). This will be open to all, and we are discussing partnerships with local community and activist groups to ensure we engage a wider public interested in mental health services as well as decision makers within local mental health services. 

Members of the APOD team have been working to formulate recommendations to support the POD team’s evolving practice based on preliminary data from interviews with families using services. This has included inputting on the informational materials given to families new to the POD service as well as Standard Operating Procedures for the POD team.

We have commissioned a local dancer to develop a performance piece about the Open Dialogue experience from the perspectives of families using the service. She will perform at both presentation events and is looking for input from other people who have experienced POD (including carers) to inform her piece. To this end, we are hosting a hybrid (online/in person) meeting open to anyone with lived experience receiving Open Dialogue on May 4th. Please contact Liana at liana.e.chase@durham.ac.uk for more details.

London site

Darren has been conducting interviews with psychological therapists who are not directly involved in the ODDESSI trial but who work in the wider mental health system in and around our London site. This includes practitioners working in various psychological therapies pathways, including the Personality Disorder Pathway and the PTSD Pathway. Through his interviews and research, he is exploring what practitioners know about OD and the ODDESSI trial and how the approach may or may not fit with the approaches used in these pathways.
Analysis of interviews is ongoing, with Kiara in the final phase of her PhD write-up. The team is looking forward to the September ‘presentation of findings’ event, in which they will share preliminary insights and engage in discussion with researchers and staff on the ODDESSI trial. We can’t wait to bring all this to you (in person)!

APOD’s global reach

David recently travelled to India and gave a public lecture, entitled ‘Open Dialogue as a Response to Crisis and Suicidal Distress: Working with Vulnerable and Marginalised People‘, at the Banyan Academy (BALM) in Chennai.

He also joined the editorial team for the journalFrontiers in Psychology on the research topic of ‘Open Dialogue Around the World – Implementation, Outcomes, Experiences, and Perspectives’.

His article, co-authored with an international team of Open Dialogue trainers, practitioners and advocates, was recently published online (Open Access): ‘Introduction: Open Dialogue around the world – implementation, outcomes, experiences and perspectives’.

Artistic events

Please see our updated ‘Presentation of Findings’ event announcement and creative activities flyer for details of upcoming workshops and our ongoing call for artistic submissions.