Conference Agenda

In recent years, Dialogical Self Theory (DST) has increasingly informed counselling and psychotherapy, yet evidence that DST-oriented training translates into routine practice remains limited. This study assessed perceived impact, transfer to practice, and implementation conditions following a three-day DST summer school held in Preveza, Greece (17–19 July 2025). The programme combined foundational DST teaching, training in mapping internal dialogicality, and parallel experiential workshops using arts-based counselling or therapeutic methods (enactment of inner dialogues, group dialogical process, photographic “snapshots”, and CompositionWork). Application modules addressed individual, couple, family, and group therapy; identity construction (including LGBTQ+ identities); and career/athletic counselling. Sessions on philosophical and cultural-historical roots of dialogicality (e.g., Plato; Greek antiquity), alongside structured reflection, scaffolded dialogical thinking. All attendees (N = 40) were invited to complete an online follow-up survey six months later; 24 responded. Open-ended items explored sustained learning; changes in case formulation and therapeutic stance; techniques used; professional identity shifts; barriers and facilitators; unexpected outcomes; support needs; and the most important perceived change. Responses were analysed using framework analysis. Participants reported strong sustained conceptual uptake, describing a shift toward multi-voiced understandings of clients and reinterpreting ambivalence and conflict as dialogical processes. Many also noted stance changes, including greater curiosity, higher tolerance of complexity, and a less corrective, more exploratory relational posture. Transfer to practice was evident but uneven: mapping internal voices and structured inner-dialogue work were most frequently used, whereas arts-based methods were adopted more selectively. Barriers included time constraints, limited supervision, and setting-related restrictions; facilitators included fit with existing orientations, experiential learning, and access to materials and peers. Respondents highlighted booster sessions and ongoing case-based supervision as key supports for deeper and sustained implementation. Overall, DST training appears to produce durable shifts in formulation and stance, while sustained technique integration depends on post-training supports and practice context.