On 26 August 2026, The Lancet Psychiatry published the results of ODDESSI, the first randomized controlled trial of Open Dialogue.
Conducted across five mental health Trusts in England, the ODDESSI study compared 225 participants who received the Open Dialogue approach with 175 who received treatment as usual – the model currently implemented throughout English mental health services.
The Open Dialogue group showed gains on several outcomes: participants were less likely to be admitted to hospital or referred to crisis services, and reported better self-rated recovery, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with care. However, On the primary outcome – time to relapse, measured as the number of days between recovery from crisis and relapse – the trial found no difference between the two groups.
You can read the full paper here, watch the results announcement – supported by Rethink Mental Illness and Mind, and produced by Safely Held Spaces – here, or watch Jaakko Seikkula discussing the findings with Auður Axelsdóttir here.
And the ODDESSI story doesn’t end with the data. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Emma Goude spent the trial following the people behind it, capturing the stories that don’t show up in a results table. Her film premieres on Monday, 14 September 2026, 19:30–21:00 (UK time), on Zoom, with ODDESSI clinical lead Russell Razzaque joining the conversation. Learn more and reserve your free ticket here.
