This is a RECORDED workshop.

2.5 formal CEUs approved by NASW ME.

Harm reduction is a comprehensive public health approach that acknowledges the inherent presence of substance use in society and seeks to minimize its negative consequences through a range of strategies. It prioritizes individual and community well-being over complete abstinence, providing education, resources, and support to promote safer use practices.

This workshop is designed to equip social workers with the knowledge and skills to integrate harm reduction principles into their clinical practice with an overview of relevant macro-level issues, such as the dangers of criminalization-based drug policy. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of harm reduction principles and strategies, emphasizing a nonjudgmental and non-coercive approach to promote self-determination, reduce stigma, and support change.

The workshop will focus on understanding the core principles of harm reduction, conducting assessments and risk evaluations, developing harm reduction plans with clients, and providing guidance to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their drug use. Motivational interviewing, brief interventions, and cognitive-behavioral approaches will serve as the primary intervention, enabling participants to facilitate client-led change and support unique journeys with substance use and use practices.

In addition to clinical practice, this workshop will briefly explore the War on Drugs and the role of social workers in macro-level social work, including advocacy and policy change. Participants will learn how to engage in advocacy efforts to promote public health approaches to substance use and influence policy reforms at a systemic level.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of harm reduction principles and strategies, including the core principles of harm reduction and their application in clinical practice.

• Develop assessment and risk evaluation skills to effectively identify and address the specific needs and risks of individuals who use drugs within a harm reduction framework that takes into account an individual's drug use practices, potential harms, and readiness for change.

• Develop and implement harm reduction plans with clients incorporating their goals, values, and harm reduction strategies with practical techniques for setting realistic and achievable goals that promote safer drug use practices.

• Gain knowledge and skills in using motivational interviewing techniques, brief interventions, and cognitive-behavioral approaches to support clients in making informed decisions about their drug use and implementing safer practices in a client-centered and nonjudgmental manner.

• Understand the relevance of drug policy for macro-level social work and gain awareness of the risks associated with criminalization-based drug policies in order to advocate for policy change in line with evidence-based public health approaches.
  
  

About the presenter:
Lauren Porter, BSW, CADC, MHRT/C, has a bachelor’s degree in social work and a postgraduate certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Southern Maine. After studying social policy abroad, she returned to resume her studies in social work at the University of Kentucky. Her academic focus is international comparisons of drug policy approaches and outcomes on public health. She holds Maine licenses as a certified alcohol and drug counselor, peer support specialist, recovery coach, and MHRT/C. She currently supervises a casework program supporting individuals post-incarceration and previously worked with individuals experiencing homelessness and actively using drugs. She has provided harm reduction education and Narcan distribution around the state of Maine, participates in advocacy around overdose prevention and drug policy reform, and believes that people who use drugs have the intrinsic right to make their own decisions about their use.