Open Dialogue is a therapeutic approach that informs working with the family and social systems of a person, seeking to understand their distress, including ‘psychosis’. Two therapists meet with the person and their network in a reflective space that allows the voices of all people in the group to be heard. The Open Dialogue approach establishes the position that distress and problems do not exist in isolation or within an individual. Rather, problems exist within the social context of a family or broader network. 

Open Dialogue network meetings facilitate a process of working towards understanding the needs of all people in a group and discovering new understandings that allow the group to move forward. This approach can be offered when a network is in crisis or in a more stable situation. 

Open Dialogue is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a best practice example of relational services offered to a person in psychotic distress.