Evaluating a Dialogically-Informed Family Intervention Pathway in Early Intervention for Psychosis: Service User and Carer Experiences

<p>Purpose: Open Dialogue (OD) and dialogic approaches are increasingly prevalent in UK mental healthcare settings with widescale evaluation ongoing. However, evidence for a dialogically-informed approach within the Family Intervention (FIp) pathway for Early Intervention for Psychosis (EIP) services remains limited. This service evaluation aims to explore service user and carer experiences of dialogically-informed network meetings delivered as the FIp pathway within an EIP service.Methods: A mixed‑methods service evaluation with a primary qualitative focus was conducted within an inner‑city London EIP service. Service users and family members who had attended at least one network meeting completed an anonymous online questionnaire, and responses were examined using reflexive thematic analysis.Results: This evaluation suggests that dialogically-informed FIp is experienced as valuable primarily through the relational and dialogical conditions it creates. Its mechanisms of change and viability for implementation within existing service structures remain unclear. Limitations: As this data comes from an opt-in questionnaire with 37 respondents, it may be representative of a self-selecting cohort with more positive appraisals of the approach, with responses indicative of a survey focus on relational elements of care.Implications: Further research is required into processes of change inherent to Dialogic Practice. Better evidence is also required into the cultural adaptability of this approach, as well as understanding the varied levels of access within the service population to FIp. There are also wider implications around clinical pathways for Dialogic Practice.Originality: This evaluation contributes to a currently underdeveloped area: the viability of Dialogic Practice within mandated FIp delivery in NHS EIP services.</p>