CMHN team at the Australian Open Dialogue Conference

The CentreMHN team were excited to join in the first ever Australian Open Dialogue Conference. More than 150 people gathered at Macquarie University NSW to share about dialogical approach, skills development in Australian, current evidence, and planned and actual implementation experiences.

In an unusually inclusive process, every participant and their team was acknowledged in the introduction by Keith Bryant, the CEO of Open Dialogue. Our Cath Roper and Puneet Sansanwal were among the participants primed to enable peer facilitated Open Dialogue. Our Director Bridget Hamilton presented with Elizabeth Shaw, CEO of Relationships Australia and member of the Board of Open Dialogue Centre, on the topic of Relationships, Family and Community in Mental Health Care: A Lost Opportunity. The key point was that consumers and families want to see growing relationships - therapeutic relationships and supportive networks - as the top priority and process in mental health care. Open Dialogue is an opportunity to re-prioritise just that. It was great for the team to network with and hear from other participants that are practicing Open Dialogue in community and health services.

Bridget Hamilton in a panel discussion +  Q&A session.