Radical mental health initiative invites patients’ families into care scheme

A radical international-led approach to mental health, which has been piloted and implemented in West Cork, and is set for expansion to Cork City in the coming weeks, is the subject of an international conference that begins tomorrow.

Finland Open Dialogue is a significant departure from traditional mental health treatment philosophy, as the programme emphasises both the involvement of patients’ families in the treatment programme as well as continuity of care by the same multidisciplinary team.

Running in the West Cork town of Bantry for three years, the Finnish programme also gives priority to involving service-users in meetings and discussions both about their own cases and in the actual development of an appropriate treatment plan.