“Open dialogue” and psychosis

The last 2 decades have seen tremendous growth in programs to address first-episode psychosis, which typically affects adolescents and young adults. Open Dialogue is a program that has shown promise in FEP treatment in Finland and is gaining popularity internationally. Implementation of this model in cultural and health care contexts that differ from Finland has not been studied. We conducted a qualitative study as part of the first pilot study of Open Dialogue in the United States to understand factors critical for implementation of the model...

Antipsychotics are the first-line treatment for people with schizophrenia or psychosis. There is evidence that they can reduce the symptoms of psychosis and risk of relapse. However many people do not respond to these drugs, or experience adverse effects and stop taking them. In the UK, clinical guidelines have stressed the need for research into psychosocial interventions without antipsychotics. This systematic review examines the effects of psychosocial interventions for people with schizophrenia or psychosis who are on no/minimal antipsychotics...

OBJECTIVE: Emerging evidence for Open Dialogue (OD) has generated considerable interest. Evidence comes from a range of methodologies (case study, qualitative, and naturalistic designs), which have not been synthesized as a whole. The objective of this review was to synthesize this literature. METHODS: A systematic search of the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO included studies published until January 2018. A total of 1,777 articles were screened...

Open Dialogue (OD) is a family-oriented early intervention approach which has demonstrated good outcomes in the treatment of first-episode psychosis (FEP). Nevertheless, more evidence is needed. In this register-based cohort study the long-term outcomes of OD were evaluated through a comparison with a control group over a period of approximately 19 years. We examined the mortality, the need for psychiatric treatment, and the granting of disability allowances. Data were obtained from Finnish national registers regarding all OD patients whose treatment for FEP commenced within the time of the original interventions (total N = 108)...

BACKGROUND: This theoretical study reviews the main findings and research on home-based treatment for psychosis. The principal purpose was to analyze the various types of home-based service and make recommendations for a service that would meet the needs of both first-episode and resistant patients. We compare the Early Intervention Service, which aims to reduce the range of untreated psychosis (DUP) with other types of home-care and similar interventions that have already been implemented: crisis resolution home teams (CRHTs), Open Dialogue Approach (ODA), social skills training (SST) and foster homes...

BACKGROUND: Psychosis seminars enable service users, their carers and mental health professionals to meet outside of a formal care setting, increase understanding of mental illness and help establish a dialogue. AIMS: To explore feasibility of psychosis seminars in the UK and the experiences of participants. METHOD: Seven meetings attended by 25 people were held over a 3-month period. An open-ended questionnaire was returned by ten participants...

Open Dialogue (OD) is a Finnish approach to crisis intervention and ongoing care for young people experiencing psychosis and other psychiatric crises. OD engages the individual and family (or other supports) in meetings, with open discussions of all aspects of the clinical situation, and in decision making. Although psychiatric assessment and treatment occur, the initial emphasis is on engagement, crisis intervention, and promoting dialogue. Finnish studies are encouraging, with excellent clinical and functional outcomes after five years...

After twenty years of transformation of Finnish mental health care, in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century, incidence of schizophrenia in Western Lapland dropped from 35/100,000 to 7/100,000. This phenomenon is linked with Yrjo O. Alanen et al. who investigated schizophrenia treatment outcomes and psychosocial rehabilitation of people with schizophrenia. Investigators focused on an individually tailored psychotherapeutic recovery plan during patient's hospitalization, including care for patients' families...

AIM: Delayed help-seeking can have serious consequences for young people with first-episode psychosis (FEP), in terms of treatment response and outcome. Young people's narratives about help-seeking are important to understand why delays occur; however, as the majority of help-seeking is initiated by family members, through a general practitioner (GP), family narratives are also of interest. The aim of this study was to explore help-seeking for FEP, including first contact with a GP. METHOD: A semistructured interview was developed using a topic guide...

The multifactorial nature of schizophrenia and the wide-ranging impact of the illness on the patient, their family, carers and healthcare providers mean that clinicians must be prepared to take a holistic approach to treatment. It is widely recognized that a patient's beliefs about their treatment and their experiences of schizophrenia can be very important in determining both attitude towards treatment compliance and behaviour in response to symptoms of the illness and environmental stress. Antipsychotic therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment for schizophrenia...

INTRODUCTION: Schizophrenia and its related disorders are prevalent, disabling and costly. Recent longitudinal studies found that the first two to five years of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders are characterised by symptomatic and functional deterioration. This led to the hypothesis of the existence of a critical period in the treatment of individuals suffering from psychosis: an assertive intervention during the first two to five years of psychosis could improve long term outcomes and prevent the emergence of psychosocial deficits...

In this article, we apply Mikhail Bakhtin's model of a 'divided self' to R.D. Laing's eponymous work on the lived experience of divided selves in 'psychosis'. Both of these authors offer intriguing insights into the fracturing of self through its social relationships (including the 'micro-dialogues' staged for oneself) but from uniquely different perspectives. Bakhtin (1984) uses Dostoevsky's novels as his material for a theory of self, centrally concerned with moments of split identity, crisis, and personal transformation, while Laing relies on his patient's accounts of 'psychosis'...

In Finland, a network-based, language approach to psychiatric care has emerged, called "Open Dialogue." It draws on Bakhtin's dialogical principles (Bakhtin, 1984) and is rooted in a Batesonian tradition. Two levels of analysis, the poetics and the micropolitics, are presented. The poetics include three principles: "tolerance of uncertainty," "dialogism," and "polyphony in social networks." A treatment meeting shows how these poetics operate to generate a therapeutic dialogue. The micropolitics are the larger institutional practices that support this way of working and are part of Finnish Need-Adapted Treatment...