Harm Reduction In Drug Addiction

HARM REDUCTION IN DRUG ADDICTION

Reducing the harm done by your drug addiction.

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Harm Reduction Therapy
Harm Reduction Psychotherapy is a non-judgmental approach to helping substance users reduce the negative
impact of drugs and alcohol have on their lives. It respects that people use drugs for a variety of reasons. It
addresses the complex relationship that people develop with drugs and alcohol. Drug and alcohol issues are
addressed simultaneously with social and occupational concerns and psychological and emotional issues.

What is Harm Reduction?
"The term Harm Reduction Therapy (HRT) has been coined to refer to the several treatment models that are currently
being developed and tested in the United States and around the world. These harm reduction treatment models can
be used in outpatient settings, residential treatment, homeless programs, traditional drug treatment programs, medical
services, community outreach programs among other service delivery settings.

Harm Reduction Therapy (HRT) is based on the belief that alcohol and drug problems including substance abuse
and dependence develop in individuals through a unique interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.
HRT is a non-judgmental approach to helping people experiencing alcohol and drug problems to reduce the negative
impact of substance use, abuse or dependence in their lives. Harm Reduction Therapy understands that people use
alcohol and drugs for a variety of reasons. It addresses the complex relationship that people develop with these
psychoactive substances over the course of their lives. In HRT, concerns related to drug and alcohol use are
addressed simultaneously with their social and occupational impacts as well as their psychological and emotional
implications in an integrated treatment approach to these "co-occurring disorders."

Anyone is welcome to enter Harm Reduction Therapy, regardless of the status of their alcohol or drug use and
regardless or their primary concerns or treatment goals. Regarding substance use, the goals of a person seeking
HRT can range from complete abstinence to controlled or safer use. Paradoxically, Harm Reduction Therapy
recognizes that a person's substance use and chosen treatment goals are both based on a complex unfolding of the
person's desire to improve their health, relationships and overall functioning in the world.

Harm Reduction Therapy offers an alternative model of substance abuse treatment based on the principles of
collaboration, respect, and self-determination that often runs counter to the addiction treatment industry in the
United States with its over-reliance on the disease model of chemical dependency.

Typically, "Minnesota Model" or "12-Step" treatment platforms systematically exclude harm reduction methods as a
part of the therapy process leaving many who seek help, but do meet treatment entry requirements such as an
abstinence goal, with no access to treatment at all. Nonetheless, many professionals in substance abused treatment,
in medicine and in allied fields have been working to incorporate harm reduction principles into their working therapy
model or have explicitly made the heart of harm reduction front and center in their work with clients and patients
presenting with alcohol and drug issues.

Both research on harm reduction and clinical applications of Harm Reduction Therapy have been growing
internationally at a rapid rate. Today, several books, training centers and conferences are available to guide
practitioners in the skillful application of this pragmatic and compassionate approach to reducing alcohol and
drug-related harm to the individual user and those in his or her family and community."

Australian Centre for Addiction Research (ACAR)
Control Your Drinking Online: A Web-Based Self-Change Program.

Moderation Management (MM)
Self Management • Balance • Moderation • Personal Responsibility-Moderation Management is a behavioral change
program and national support group network for people concerned about their drinking and who desire to make
positive lifestyle changes.

HAMS Harm Reduction Network
HAMS stands for Harm reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation. The HAMS Harm Reduction Network is a free of charge
peer-led support group for people who use alcohol or other mood altering substances. HAMS Harm Reduction
strategies are defined in the 14 elements of HAMS. HAMS supports every positive change. Whether your goal is safer
use, reduced use, abstinence, or moderate use within specified guidelines, you will find a safe and supportive
environment here. If you want to change your drinking, you've come to the right place.

Alcohol Management
Alcohol Management is a brief, confidential educational program that helps you eliminate drinking problems by
reducing your drinking or stopping altogether. You decide which is better for you: moderation or abstinence.

Harm Reduction Works
by G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.

The Harm Reduction approach is based on compassionate pragmatism instead of moralistic idealism. It recognizes that
a minority of people have always abused alcohol and always will. It doesn't condone this behavior, but seeks to reduce
its incidence and the harm it causes.

Education is the key to the prevention and minimization of harm related to high-risk alcohol use. Unlike prevention
programs for youth that focus exclusively on abstinence and promote a zero-tolerance, "just say no" approach,
programs based on harm reduction are designed to accommodate those who have already "said yes" (or who are
leaning in that direction) when it comes to experimenting. Such programs can be structured in group settings (e.g.,
prevention programs in schools) to include discussion of both abstinence and consumption of alcohol. The decision to
consume or to remain abstinent can be informed by a discussion of the relative pros and cons of each choice.

As an example, members of our staff at the University of Washington Behaviors Research Center were asked to visit a
private high school in Seattle to discuss drinking problems with members of the senior class. School officials invited us
to put on a program similar to the one we developed to work with University of Washington freshmen. Since most of the
high school seniors were planning to attend college within a year, and since most of these students were already
drinking, it was decided that a harm reduction approach was the best alternative to traditional abstinence programs.

When we met with members of the senior class (with no teachers present), we asked them what they thought we were
going to talk about. One young woman, with a bored expression, replied: "Another 'just say no' lecture. Well, while your
doing that, I'm going to be daydreaming about the big party coming up Friday night." After we explained that we were
there to talk about drinking and its risks and benefits (as we did with college freshmen), the attitude shifted to one of
animated discussion. All but one student in the class of 20 revealed that they were active drinkers; these students
spoke freely about their experiences with alcohol, both positive and negative. In this interactive discussion, students
raised numerous questions that could easily be addressed within the framework of harm reduction (e.g., How to
respond to peer pressure to get drunk, how to help a friend who has overindulged, how males and females respond
differently to alcohol, how alcohol affects sexual activity, etc.).

The one student who reported that he was an abstainer was challenged at first by some of the other students, one of
whom accused him of being "holier than thou" and "looking down your nose" at students who were not abstinent. "Not
at all," he replied. "I'm hoping to make the college sports teams in the fall, and I don't want to do anything like drinking
that might interfere with my physical training or slow my reaction time." The ensuing discussion focused on the
advantages and the disadvantages of drinking, including the effects of alcohol on reaction time, with everyone actively
involved. Toward the end of the meeting, several students thanked us for promoting such an open forum in which their
views about drinking were accepted and discussed, even though alcohol consumption was illegal for these underage
drinkers. Another student told us, "We should be doing this in junior high school, when most of us started to
experiment with alcohol. Maybe some of us seniors could lead the discussion with the ninth-graders, the way you did
with us." Following this introductory meeting, school officials invited us to put on several harm reduction workshops for
the graduating class. This program was found to reduce harmful drinking patterns significantly over the course of the
school year.

Harm reduction views people as responsible for their own choices. They are helped "where they are" and moved from
there in small manageable steps to increasing levels of improved self-care, health, safety, and well-being. And it works.

Drink Too Much?
Here are practical suggestions for either cutting down or abstaining from alcohol along with tips for helping loved ones
who have a drinking problem.