What is harm reduction?

Harm reduction is a way of working with people suffering from substance use. Research has shown that it is easier for some people to begin counseling when they do not have to follow a prescribed treatment plan dictated by someone else. In harm reduction, any treatment goal is valid that helps reduce harm to an individual. Following this philosophy, total abstinence becomes one goal among many possible alternatives.

Substance use on the rise:
Research studies have shown that adolescents and college students are "...at elevated risk for problems because of their high alcohol consumption rates" (Harm Reduction, Marlatt, A., 1998, p. 93).

"About 1 in 4 American chilldren is exposed to family alcoholism or alcohol abuse while growing up..." (New York Times, Jan.1, 2000).
And so much for the stereotype of drug users: 7 out of 10 drug users are full-time workers (WMBC - 9-8-99)

Following are some of the warning signs for problems with substance use:

1) you find substance use is interfering with some aspect of your life - family, friends, school, employment.
2) you feel defensive when questioned about your drinking
3) you tend to forget what you did the night before, and this forgetting persists over time
4) if one drink (or drug) is not enough, and you find an increasing need to have more
5) you find that substance use is making it easier to function socially
6) you find yourself wondering whether you have a problem, then dismiss that idea
 
If you have a friend that you feel is having a problem, be gentle. Most people do not do well with harsh confrontation.

Mark Sehl teaches a course "Harm Reduction Counseling- A Two Way Street " through the Harm Reduction Training Institute. To check the full range of courses offered at the Institute visit the Harm Reduction Coalition.

Dr. Sehl's warning signs for young adults who may have a drinking problem were published in the Oct. '99 issue of the magazine YM (Young and Modern), p.78.

Alert for fathers! ". . . a child living in a two-parent family, whose relationship with the father is poor, is 68 percent likelier to smoke, drink and use drugs than teens living in a average two-parent household" (NY Times, 8-31-99). This obviously underlines the importance of a father's positive relationship with his children. Many fathers are assuming more of a role raising children. This is not a easy task for these fathers, many of whom stay at home and their spouse is employed. This tendency will grow. Consider the newest book by Susan Faludi: Stiffed The Betrayal of the American Man. She argues that the American man does not have the same means of attaining manhood as he once did. "The boy who had been told he was going to be the master of the universe and all that was in it found himself master of nothing" (see NY Times article, Sept. 28, '99, Arts).