What is Peer-supported Open Dialogue (POD), its history, the present and hopes for the future? With Val Jackson (morning session)
Open Dialogue in Practice – Experiencing Open Dialogue with Simon Platts and Sharon Tierney (afternoon session)
Wednesday 02nd December 2026 10am-4.30pm, University of Leeds LGI Clarendon Wing LT (3.002) £80
Detailed Description
Overview
This day on Open Dialogue is divided into two connected sessions. Booking is for the full day event and individual sessions cannot be booked separately.
What is Peer-supported Open Dialogue (POD), its history, the present and hopes for the future? With Val Jackson (10am -12pm: morning session)
What is the 'Open' in dialogue? How does a dialogical approach differ from systemic psychotherapy? POD places people with lived and living experience at its core, as trainers and practitioners. Since 2014 our training has been accredited by AFSP as a foundation course. The recent publication of the ODDESSI trial results is providing a basis for further developments and hopes for the future.
Val trained as an Occupational Therapist working in mental health in ward settings and CMHTs both here in the UK and overseas. She qualified as a family therapist in 2001 and then worked in the Leeds Early Intervention in Psychosis Service taking the lead in an Open Dialogue trial. Open Dialogue just made sense to her and she has campaigned widely for its introduction in the UK ever since. She completed the 3 year OD trainer course in the UK and since 2014 she has been a co-facilitator and tutor on the Peer-supported Open Dialogue, Systemic practice and Relationship skills course since its inception helping to train NHS staff involved in the recently published ODDESSI trial.
Open Dialogue in Practice – Experiencing Open Dialogue Simon Platts and Sharon Tierney (1pm-4.30pm: afternoon session)
Open Dialogue can be seen as both a system-wide approach and a set of therapeutic practices. What links these is the philosophy of being dialogical as a way of being and how to incorporate this in all interactions and how systems operate. We will reflect on what this can look like in practice and how we have enacted the philosophy. We will also invite participants into experiential exercises that give a sense of what being dialogical can be like.
Sharon: I was first introduced to Open Dialogue when Val Jackson presented the approach on my initial systemic training 2009-2011, when I was working for a family intervention service, commissioned to work alongside families who were on child protection and child in need plans.
At the time, following a random conversation with a fellow systemic trainee, I had the opportunity to co-work with an aspire colleague, equally enthused by Open Dialogue, alongside a family and their network, with amazing results. Open Dialogue works.
As a child and young person in the 1980’s and 90’s, experiencing family members distress and navigating, what I later perceived to be an unhelpful mental health system, hearing about Open Dialogue just made complete sense to me and I was hooked!
After a 15 year role in Leeds CAMHS, working with children, young people and their families and networks, I joined aspire last year, in a systemic lead role, and feel fortunate to be able to work alongside equally passionate colleagues, embedding open dialogue and systemic practices in our work alongside clients and their networks.
Simon: I came across Open Dialogue in 2003 when doing my Clinical Psychology training and my thesis – service user involvement and multidisciplinary working in psychiatric ward rounds – highlighted that Open Dialogue was a way forward for services. I’ve been attempting to develop Open Dialogue in services since, and I was part of the British Psychological Society’s (2021) document, ‘Family interventions in psychosis: Guidelines for psychologists and practitioners supporting families and social networks’, where Open Dialogue was regarded as the best example of family-friendly and inclusive practice.
Becoming more dialogical in my practice and life was assisted in 2013 by becoming a father and doing Systemic Family Therapy training here at Leeds. I also joined the Barnsley Early Intervention Team and that was the first place I was able to develop these ideas in services, supported by multiple services participating in Open Dialogue Foundation Level training.
I joined aspire (the Leeds Early Intervention Team) in 2021 and was tasked with bringing Open Dialogue back to the team. I have been developing dialogical practices and culture within aspire since, alongside many people who have shared the passion for Open Dialogue. I am currently doing a three-year Open Dialogue training, specialising in training and supervision.
Important Information
In order to make our trainings as accessible as possible and keep costs low refreshments will not be provided in the fee but there are several refreshment options for delegates in the Worsley Building
Disability access – the room for the training have level access via lifts. Please contact us for other access / needs requirements on the day.
The workshop fee is exempt from VAT. Bookings are accepted on the understanding that the workshop is offered in good faith but may have to be rescheduled or altered for reasons outside the control of the organiser. The University of Leeds reserves the right to cancel the workshop, in which case the fees will be refunded in full. In the event of cancellation, the University will not be held liable for delegates' travel or accommodation expenses. Where a delegate wishes to cancel a booking, written cancellations received up to 14 days prior to the start of the workshop will be accommodated. After this date the full fee is chargeable and no refund will be made. However, we can accept substitution of a delegate at any time without additional charge.
Certificates of attendance for CPD will be available at the end of the workshop.
