According to the holistic concept of mental health, mental health problems cannot be reduced only to the characteristics of the individual, because the transformation of a certain feeling, thought or behavior into a problem depends on the context and the meanings given to things. The holistic concept of mental health helps to understand why phenomena classified as mental health problems cannot be reduced to their psychological or biological components in a way that could be objectively verified. In addition, it makes understandable the research results according to which, instead of strictly defined methods, common influencing factors that do not follow diagnostic boundaries are effective in mental health care. In my research, I have formulated a unifying background theory from the holistic concept of mental health for mental health care and helping practices that aim to optimize the common influencing factors of mental health care.

The open dialogue approach is a holistic way of reorganizing the mental health service system so that treatment, regardless of the problem, aims to create dialogic spaces in which a shared understanding of people's current life situation is built. This understanding can be used to support a more precisely defined treatment process and symptom relief, if this is still necessary. We have studied the effectiveness of the open dialogue in the treatment of first-time psychosis in the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District, where the treatment model has been systematically developed since the 1980s. In national registry monitoring, the Open Dialogue has been associated with positive treatment outcomes compared to treatment for psychosis initiated elsewhere in Finland.

After the 2000s, research and development of the Open Dialogue continued in the youth psychiatry department of the Länsi-Pohja Hospital District. We conducted a cohort study, which included all young people who received youth psychiatric treatment in Finland between 2003 and 2008. We collected data from them from social and health care registers until 2019, which enabled continuous 10-year register follow-up. Youth psychiatric treatment based on the Open Dialogueappeared to cost-effectively promote the long-term effectiveness of mental health care.

The Open Dialogue Care Model is not a method, but an example of a holistic way of organizing the encounter between people seeking help from mental health services in a way that optimizes the common factors influencing mental health care at a system level. A holistic way of thinking provides guidelines and a framework for how services could be developed in a more comprehensive direction.