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Consumer and Practitioner Perceptions of the Harm Reduction Approach in a Community Mental Health Setting

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Abstract

Harm reduction in community mental health settings can be effective in engaging persons with co-occurring disorders in services. In this qualitative study, personal interviews and grounded theory methods were used to explore the experiences of 21 mental health practitioners and 15 consumers with co-occurring disorders at a community mental health housing program that uses harm reduction. Results indicate that while harm reduction enhanced therapeutic alliances, ethical and emotional tensions between practitioners and consumers regarding their views on self-determination and tolerance of drug-related behaviors were also evident. These tensions are explored and implications for practice and education are provided.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Emmett J. and Mary Martha Doerr Center for Social Justice Education and Research in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University for its support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, 3550 Lindell Blvd., Saint Louis, MO, 63103, USA

    Michael A. Mancini

  2. EMPACT-SPC, 1232 E. Broadway Rd., Suite 120, Tempe, AZ, 85282, USA

    Wynter Wyrick-Waugh

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  1. Michael A. Mancini
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  2. Wynter Wyrick-Waugh
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Correspondence to Michael A. Mancini.

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Mancini, M.A., Wyrick-Waugh, W. Consumer and Practitioner Perceptions of the Harm Reduction Approach in a Community Mental Health Setting. Community Ment Health J 49, 14–24 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9451-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9451-4

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