Harm Reduction Theory

I have come to believe in the necessity of integrating cognitive and behavioral elements into psychotherapy with clients who have problems with substance use. I have also come to understand the use of these techniques as consistent with harm reduction.

The thread that runs through the variety of psychoanalytic approaches that currently exist is the idea that human behavior is shaped and driven by a number of different elements within each individual that are personally meaningful and that a conscious awareness of these meaningful elements increases our possibilities for greater choice and freedom in our lives.

Mainstream abstinence-oriented treatment of alcohol and drug users in the United States today continues to have poor success by anyone's criteria. Clinical observations and empirical studies typically report that a majority of clients seen initially do not successfully complete treatment or maintain their gains after treatment.

Harm reduction is the most recent of these important new ideas in the substance use treatment field. It heralds a paradigm shift in the way we understand and respond to problematic drug and alcohol use. Harm reduction rejects the presumption that abstinence is the best or only acceptable goal for all problem drug and alcohol users.

This is the second book of a field guide series for drug user activist  organizations and harm reduction workers in Eastern Europe. The fact is, no one deserves to die because of their drug use. We can learn to protect ourselves and our communities from  overdose—and respond effectively when it does happen.

This article describes the traditional model of treating addictions and compares it to a new approach called Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (HRP), a holistic method for assessment and treatment based on reducing drug-related harm. HRP is an integrated treatment model that combines the principles of harm reduction with the psychodynamic and cognitive model of psychotherapy.

In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Patt Denning, Ph.D. on the topic of Harm Reduction, a relatively new approach to substance abuse treatment which, proponents claim, is both more effective and humane than current mainstream substance abuse treatment approaches.

Harm reduction is more than a theory, treatment approach, or policy. Rather, harm reduction is an orientation and belief system that has widespread empirical support as a means to improve the lives and functioning of individuals who use and abuse alcohol.

Allan Clear is Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition. He was interviewed at the International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harms in Warsaw, 2007.

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.