How to use Harm Reduction is a profound concept. There are many things harm reduction is not. It tends to get a bad name in the helping field by those who don’t understand its depths. In this article, I will do my best to help educate on the complexity of this reflective topic.
Harm reduction is a reflective topic because there is much more than meets the assumed understanding. Harm reduction in its simplest term is meeting someone where they are. A person only has the tools and skills to be where they are at that moment. Understanding this deeply is the key. Once we have sought clarity and gained competence about the situation, we are closer to meeting them where they are and responding to them with compassion.
We are all only doing the best we can if you think about it. If not, we would all be doing better all the time. Not just better but profoundly better.
This concept is hard for people to grasp because of pre-judgments about others. As humans we do a lot of misdiagnoses about others we come across in our lives. A person cannot implement harm reduction with judgment in their thoughts. Honestly, I would suggest specifically if you’re in the helping field and you’re not able to get past your judgmental thoughts about others you probably need to get a new job. I’m not trying to sound harsh I am trying to be a gatekeeper and speak the truth.
We should all practice harm reduction with each other because it’s filled with compassion and understanding. It also lets others know that you see their situation and that you want to help.
Some examples of harm reduction.
Starting with a hot topic…. Needle exchange for men and women who are battling addiction. Some people may think this is wrong because they should be held accountable for their addiction. Accountability isn’t always a good answer at the moment. At the moment it’s about building a relationship and planting small seeds.
With the above example, if we look through the lens of harm reduction, one way it’s helping is by preventing the transmission of some really bad diseases. Secondly, along with the needle exchange also comes contact with people who are struggling. During that contact, we would most likely be passing out community resource information. Getting connections with people starts to plant seeds. Someone else may water that seed but we begin to plant them. Harm reduction can create a ton of little positive ripples in a person and a community.
Harm Reduction can be done in many different forms. Another aspect of the substance use scenario is there might be an area with a high population of substance use. Let’s say we place a program in that specific area. Just having a resource in the area is an example of Harm Reduction. This gives people a place to turn that they otherwise didn’t have.
Developing Relationships
As stated above, one of the most important parts of helping people is developing and maintaining a healthy relationship. We do this so they keep coming back and keep getting the help they need. At the moment a person may not be able to take responsibility for what they are doing or has done. That doesn’t mean they won’t in the future it just means they can’t right now. As said above meeting people where they are is vital.
If we are really about helping people in our lives, we need to have the ability (skills and tools) to build strong meaningful relationships. If we don’t then what are we doing but spinning our wheels?
Harm Reduction and Facilitating Crisis
If you follow the website Thinking Deeply Self-Critically.com you may realize that I put this article under the Facilitating Crisis series. I did this because there is a lot of opportunity to use harm reduction techniques when a person is going through a life crisis.
If you’re interested in the rest of the Facilitating Crisis articles check them out at this link.
Here are some techniques/tips/considerations to help improve understanding of harm reduction.
- There is no judgment in harm reduction – Judgment only creates a condition of harm.
- We constantly need to seek clarity about what is happening in front of us. Asking open-ended questions.
- Clarity gives us competence in a person’s situation. It doesn’t give us the whole picture but it gives us a start.
- Having competence about a person’s situation allows us to have true compassion. Competence gets us deeply involved in a person’s life.
- Becoming deeply involved in a person’s life is a privilege don’t take advantage of it. DO NO HARM or at least minimize harm it any chance you can.
- We need to be mindful that we have no idea about the struggles a person is going through. Even if we have a ton more clarity. We must not assume anything.
- We need to be okay with being wrong about someone. Find the humility in it.
- We must create opportunities for people to succeed.
- We must create conditions that are helpful and healthy.
- We must instill hope that things will get better.
- Hope isn’t a promise that can’t be kept.
- We must let go of control because harm reduction is not about us it’s about them.
- We must stay in the moment and listen to what it is a person is saying (stop your preoccupied thoughts).
- Harm Reduction is cultivating a meaningful relationship in the moment or the time we have in a way that a person will come back for more help.
- People need to walk away feeling empowered.
Conclusion
Harm reduction is a lot of different things but it’s not a tool to hold someone accountable for their actions. There may be a time and place for this, but it needs to be calculated, strategic, and purposeful and it must do no harm. Harm reduction is meeting our brother or sister where they are and understanding they are doing the best they can at that moment as are we. We have a responsibility to others to be responsible for ourselves both our thinking and actions. We need to be practicing becoming the best version of ourselves during harm reduction.
If you like what you have read, check out other articles on the website ThinkingDeeplySelf-Critically.com the site is designed to give us tools and techniques to help us become the best version of ourselves. There are four main categories on the site. The Foundation, Our Responsibility to Us, Our Responsibility to Others and Facilitating Crisis.
You may also enjoy the article on Winning the War Between Your Ears helpful in your efforts with How to use Harm Reduction.
