1. Overcoming Oppressive
Dysfunctional Communications
in Mental Health Communities
Liam Mac Gabhann & Paddy McGowan
School of Nursing & Human Sciences
Dublin City University

2. The key to less dysfunctional
oppressive communications?
 Power
 Expertise
 Diversity
 Multiple truths
 Collective journeying and determination
 Unknowing
 Seeing, hearing, understanding each other..

3. Open Dialogue
As a form of open communication
As a therapeutic approach
Service Delivery
As a process to aid organisational
development
As a process for community development

4. Open Dialogue as communication
“where it is perceived as a joint action that joins
people together in a temporary mutual world
experience. Participants have to be willing to
engage in this dialogue or a situation needs to
be created where it can ensue” (Bakhtin 1981)
 Subject to subject (with,not to!)
 Co-creating and naming their world
 Don’t have to abandon beliefs or values

5. Characteristics of Open Dialogue Processes
 The dialogue is based on give and take as  An argument can be rejected only after an
opposed to one way communication investigation (and not for instance, on the
 All people concerned by the issue under grounds that it arises from a source with
investigation should have the opportunity limited legitimacy)
to participate  All arguments to enter the dialogue must be
 Participants are obliged to help other represented by the actors (participants)
participants be active in the dialogue present
 All participants have the same status  All participants are obliged to accept that
within the dialogue arena other participants may have better
 Experience is the point of departure for arguments than their own
participation  Among discussion issues can be the roles
 At least some of the experience the occupied by participants with no one exempt
participant has when entering the from such a discussion
dialogue is seen as relevant  The dialogue should be able to integrate a
 It must be possible for all participants to growing degree of disagreement
have an understanding for the topics  The dialogue should continuously generate
under discussion decisions that provide a platform for joint
action
(Gustavsen, 2001)

6. Mental Health Trialogue Network Ireland
Liam Mac Gabhann,, Paddy McGowan
Michaela Amering, Lorna Ni Cheirin, Anne Spencer
Catherine, Martin, Jenny, Colette, Clem, Adrian, Kevin,
Maeve, Damien, Lorraine, Michael
Libby, Paul, Gerry, Evelyn, Vinnie, Sue, Joan, Josephine,
Eoin, Susan, Cathy, Andrea, Steven, Bernie
And all the rest of Trialogue co-participants…….
www.trialogue.co

7. Mental Health Trialogue Network Ireland
Emerged partly as a consequence of our
national leadership programme
Concern about people being stuck in our
mental health bubble
It was about community liberation
How has it played out?

8. Is it About me in my community or separated
from my community….?

9. Moving beyond the bubble of the mental health
community……… into ‘the community’
Community Liberation

10. How has it played out?
 South Tipperary
 Dublin South Central
 Galway
 Donegal
 Dublin South West
 Mayo
 West Cork
And beyond…

11. Trialogue Meetings
What do I/you bring to Trialogue
What do I/you take from Trialogue
We have to consciously make a decision
to engage in Trialogue Communication
and it is not for everyone…….

12. Over to you…….

13. www.trialogue.co