Open Dialogue U.S. Expanding
to Atlanta, GA
Four way partnership brings latest expansion of Open Dialogue U.S. to Atlanta
Atlanta-based donor makes it happen
A substantial donation by an Atlanta based donor has enabled The Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care to give a generous grant to University of Massachusetts Medical School and Emory Medical School to bring Open Dialogue to Atlanta, extending by two years its original three-year grant to adapt the well established Finnish model for use in the U.S.
New 2-year pilot at Grady Memorial Hospital
The Atlanta pilot project is the second to be rolled out by the UMass research team led by Drs. Doug Ziedonis (principal investigator) and Mary Olson with grant funding from the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care (EXCELLENCE). Beginning in March 2016, Doctors Robert Cotes and Keith Wood at Emory Medical School partnered with the UMass team to implement the Open Dialogue approach at Grady Memorial Hospital and recruit and provide clinical care to 20-24 participating individuals and their families.
These leaders recognize the need for better, recovery-oriented approaches that engage individuals to be full participants in their care and recovery. Currently, only about 20% of people who are hospitalized actually connect with their first regularly scheduled out-patient appointment.
What is Open Dialogue?
Open Dialogue was developed by Jaakko Seikkula, Birgitta Alakara, Jukka Aaltonene and their multi-disciplinary team at Keropudas Hospital in Tornia, Finland.
The program was embraced by professionals in the states who have worked diligently to bring Open Dialogue to Atlanta. The Open Dialogue Atlanta Program at Grady Hospital also has a collaborative partnership with The Cottages on Mountain Creek working together to engage families and social networks in the recovery process for their loved ones.
