Introduction to Harm Reduction

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Introduction to Harm Reduction: Beyond All-or-Nothing Approaches to Substance Use Disorders (2HR)

$32.00

Course Description

This is a foundational workshop for psychotherapists seeking to expand their approach to working with clients who use substances. This training explores harm reduction as a compassionate, client-centered framework that prioritizes safety, autonomy, and incremental change over rigid abstinence-based models. You will learn practical strategies for reducing harm, fostering engagement, and addressing substance use in a nonjudgmental, collaborative manner. Through case studies, discussion, and experiential exercises, you will gain confidence in applying harm reduction principles to support clients in making meaningful progress toward their self-defined goals while maintaining a strong therapeutic alliance.

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

Identify the keys components of harm reduction
Identify how to introduce harm reduction to clients
Implement therapeutic strategies that are harm-reduction based

Social workers completing this course receive 2 Clinical asynchronous continuing education credits.

For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 2 Clinical continuing education training.

Course Instructor: Dreya Blume, LCSW

Recording Date: 07/17/2025

Course Format

NBCC ACEP # 7091, CE Training Workshops has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP #7091. Programs that do not qualify are clearly identified. CE Training Workshops is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. CE Training Workshops designates this continuing education activity for 3 continuing education hours.

CE Training Workshops, LLC, #1770, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/02/2025 to 08/02/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 3 Clinical continuing education credits.

Meet Your Facilitator

Dreya Blume, LCSW, has traveled a long and winding road to arrive where she is today,as a therapist, coach, author, and group facilitator.

She has taught English in Thailand, Japan, Australia, and Hawaii. She has worked in psychiatric wards, served as a case manager, and eventually launched her own private therapy practice.

She has taught part-time as an adjunct professor for over twenty years, led multi-day international retreats, and written seventeen books, with an eighteenth on the way.

Syllabus

Introduction

This course offers a foundational understanding of harm reduction as a compassionate, client-centered framework for working with individuals who use substances. Participants will explore how harm reduction moves beyond abstinence-only perspectives by prioritizing safety, autonomy, and dignity. The course emphasizes practical strategies clinicians can use to foster trust, reduce risk, and support meaningful change.

Objective 1: Identify the Key Components of Harm Reduction

Participants will begin by defining harm reduction and examining its core components. The course will highlight principles such as client autonomy, nonjudgment, and the essential role of compassion in clinical relationships. This section establishes harm reduction as both an evidence-informed practice and a philosophy rooted in respect for each client’s lived experience.

Objective 2: Identify How to Introduce Harm Reduction to Clients

This portion focuses on helping clinicians engage clients in harm reduction conversations with clarity and sensitivity. Participants will learn how to meet clients where they are, utilize the stages of change model, and normalize harm reduction as a valid and ethical approach. Emphasis will be placed on language, attunement, and building collaborative understanding.

Objective 3: Implement Therapeutic Strategies Based in Harm Reduction

Participants will develop practical skills for applying harm reduction in clinical practice. This includes offering psychoeducation that empowers informed decision-making, incorporating motivational interviewing strategies to strengthen autonomy and readiness, and guiding clients through realistic, incremental steps that support health and safety. The focus is on therapeutic alignment rather than coercion.

Objective 4: Reflect and Integrate

The course concludes with a summary and Q&A. Participants will reflect on how harm reduction can enrich their clinical practice, promote equity, and support ethical care for clients navigating substance use. This final section invites clinicians to consider their next steps in integrating harm reduction more fully into their work.