Charmaine Harris

Charmaine Harris is one of the Trainers on the Peer-supported Open Dialogue (POD) Training. She also works in East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) specialising in peer support, and as an Open Dialogue Peer Practitioner in North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) as part of the ODDESSI research trial.

In ELFT, Charmaine works as a peer support lead at the Service user Outreach Service (SOS) team which covers City and Hackney. SOS is a needs-adapted Peer Supported Open Dialogue service. Last year Charmaine and her colleagues went on the POD training to support the setting up of a crisis service for users and their support networks. SOS was recommissioned again this year. She has a similar role within NELFT, and has also heavily involved in helping to develop and integrate the ‘P’ within POD.

“We all have experience (of some sort) of mental health distress, and therefore we are all capable of connecting with the people that we support in some way. I believe the peer element of Open Dialogue helps to allow openness and lessen pathologising.”