How do dialogical group sessions work for mothers of young children with parenting challenges in Japan?

Purpose: Parenting support is a pressing issue in Japan. The application of open dialogue (OD)-an alternative treatment for mental illnesses-to parenting support has generated considerable interest. This study aimed to describe the participants' experiences shared during a dialogic group session based on OD principles for mothers of young children facing parenting challenges.

Methods: Five mothers with parenting concerns participated in five continuing group sessions over a half-year at a parenting support centre in Japan. The data comprised participants' utterances and feedback in each session, along with semi-structured individual interviews conducted after all sessions.

Results: Qualitative descriptive analysis revealed six themes: "From initial surprise to growing ease with dialogue without a theme," "Talking and listening without interruption or judgement," "Reflections by the facilitators: insightful or uncomfortable?," "Learning to talk about difficult things," "Offering empathic advice without imposing opinions," and "Multiple voices helped deepen their thoughts and reflections."

Conclusions: The participants discovered how to listen to others without judgement and verbalize thoughts that would otherwise have remained unvoiced. The sessions also enabled them to understand their families and themselves better. The dialogical group sessions demonstrated new possibilities for more open, mutually supportive communication.