*ASL and captioning provided*
NOTE: 2.25 CE credits are available for this class (click here for more information)
To learn more, please visit: https://www.idha-nyc.org/tending-the-future-of-care
Class Description
In a society that often privileges individualism over interdependence, dialogic approaches offer a powerful reminder that healing happens in relationship. These models challenge dominant mental health paradigms that rely on fixed hierarchies of expertise, instead inviting practices rooted in collaboration and curiosity. While the mental health system often operates on logics of certainty and control – especially in times of crisis – dialogic approaches ask us to embrace uncertainty, honor multiple truths, and reclaim personal narratives as a path to meaning-making.
This class will explore the power of dialogic practice, offering a practical look at how these models support healing and connection. Bridging both lived and professional experience with these frameworks, faculty will emphasize how dialogic spaces come alive when every voice in the room is heard – especially those too often silenced. They will share insights from the ODDESSI trial (the largest randomized controlled trial of Open Dialogue to date, currently underway in London) offering a look at what the latest research reveals and how the model is evolving. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own roles in care relationships and consider what it takes to release the impulse to control and move into connection.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the core principles of Open Dialogue, including polyphony and embracing uncertainty
- Distinguish dialogic practice from traditional models of care, and explore how “not-knowing” can support meaningful transformation
- Reframe crisis as a potential site of growth and change when held with the right relational supports
- Examine the impact of centering lived experience in dialogic spaces – and what shifts when every voice is valued
- Reflect on how professional and cultural conditioning shapes our relationships to expertise, control, and authority
Faculty
Charmaine Harris is passionate about relationships and driven by curiosity, with a strong belief in the power of community, dialogue, living narratives and relational practices. She supports individuals and teams in creating spaces for authentic connection, shared understanding, and collaborative healing. She is committed to fostering compassionate, person-centered approaches in mental health care.
Russell Razzaque is a Consultant Psychiatrist, Associate Medical Director, Clinical Director for Mental Health Transformation and Director of Research & Development at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT). He is also a mindfulness teacher and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Presidential lead for Compassionate and Relational care. Additionally, he is the Clinical & Strategic Director for the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health. Russell’s primary teaching and research interests are mindfulness, therapeutic relationships and holistic models of care. He has published a range of papers in peer reviewed journals, written several books, implemented pilot teams in a range of NHS Trusts and he is currently clinical lead for a large NIHR funded, multi-centre randomised controlled trial, studying the implementation of a systemic, person-centred and holistic approach to mental healthcare in the NHS, known as Open Dialogue.
What You Get
Registration includes the 2.5-hour class session and access to IDHA’s School for Transformative Mental Health on Mighty Networks (our virtual learning community where you’ll have the opportunity to engage with other students and your faculty).
Questions?
Email us at contact@idha-nyc.org
