Open Dialogue and Narrative Therapy principles in action: learning from a headspace project with the Australian Youth Orchestra

In this 60 minute, online presentation, we step outside the box of “business-as-usual” social work in mental health services. Using a case-study project with a community of musicians who were impacted by suicide, we examine the way Discovery College, Open Dialogue, Narrative Therapy and group work principles aligned with social work values to build resilience in the impacted community.

Jeremy Woolhouse is a Social Worker in headspace Elsternwick, a service with Bayside Health as its lead organisation. In working on this project, Jeremy also leveraged his lived experience of the music industry. He reflects on how we can approach our clinical work with creativity and innovation and how we can show up for our clients and communities as just a little more human.

Jeremy will invite participants to interact with the presentation and have a little taste of the work, or just sit back and watch. We hope you will leave with an experience of the potential for Open Dialogue and Narrative approaches, a few new ideas or tools and the inspiration to cultivate creativity in your daily social work practice!

More detail:

The Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) is an elite group of young players at the pinnacle of their profession. In 2022, the AYO lost one of its members to suicide and in 2025, premiered a composition commissioned in his memory. In acknowledgement of the specific context, plus the intense challenges to wellbeing for high achievers in the music industry, the AYO collaborated with headspace for their project. Principles of Open Dialogue, Discovery College and Narrative Therapy were integrated into a bespoke group mental health program and social work values guided the process. This Lunch and Learn presentation will share some of the tools that made the project effective and prompt you to reflect on how these tools or principles could be relevant in your own practice.