Harm Reduction and Other Approaches to Supporting Substance-Use Recovery and Overdose Prevention

MFT / LCSW

4.00 - CE credit hours training

$20.00 - Cost of course

This page contains important information about the course, including training details, a comprehensive course description, learning objectives, and source references. We encourage you to review each section to gain a clear understanding of the course content, educational goals, and supporting materials before beginning your training and taking the POST TEST below.

Target audience and instructional level of this course: foundational
There is no known conflict of interest or commercial support related to this CE program.

Harm Reduction and Other Approaches to Supporting Substance-Use Recovery and Overdose
Prevention

Course Training

Read the material in the two articles below then take the 24 questions post test.

Counseling Approaches To Promote Recovery From Problematic Substance Use and Related Issues: Chapter 3-Counseling Approaches for Promoting Harm Reduction and Preventing Recurrence
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK601490/

NIH launches harm reduction research network to prevent overdose fatalities https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-launches-harm-reduction-research-network-prevent-overdose-fatalities

Post Test

24 Questions

1. Which of the following is NOT a core component of harm reduction strategies as described in the text?

a. Meeting clients "where they are" and on their own terms. b. Employing compassionate and pragmatic strategies to minimize harm. c. Mandating abstinence or significant reduction of substance use. d. Enhancing quality of life regardless of substance use levels. e. Incorporating community-driven public health strategies.

2. Which intervention focuses on helping clients identify their strengths, goals, and barriers

a. Contingency Management (CM). b. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). c. Motivational Interviewing (MI). d. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). e. Trauma-Informed Care.

3. What role do peer support services play in enhancing counseling for individuals with

a. Providing direct clinical treatment and medication management. b. Conducting thorough diagnostic assessments and developing treatment plans. c. Connecting individuals with non-clinical professionals who have lived experience with recovery. d. Supervising clients' adherence to treatment plans and medication regimens. e. Administering and interpreting psychometric tests to assess client progress.

4. Besides Naloxone, which harm reduction strategy aims to reduce overdose risk by allowing individuals to test substances for the presence of potent opioids like fentanyl and xylazine?

a. Safer injection practices education. b. Syringe service programs. c. Sexual health education and supports. d. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS). e. Fentanyl and xylazine test strips.

5. Which of the following is NOT considered a harm reduction method described in the provided text?

a. Syringe services programs providing sterile needles and harm reduction education. b. Overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND). c. Mandating complete abstinence from all substances. d. Safer injection practices education and supply provision. e. Providing access to reproductive and sexual health services.

6. Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS) focus on:

a. Completely eliminating all substance use behaviors. b. Reducing the negative consequences of substance use without necessarily requiring abstinence. c. Increasing the use of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. d. Identifying and removing all environmental triggers for substance use. e. Focusing solely on abstinence as a means of harm reduction.

7. What role does client goal-setting play in harm reduction counseling?

a. It forces clients to immediately commit to complete abstinence from all substances. b. It focuses exclusively on long-term, drastic changes in lifestyle. c. It allows clients to set individual, achievable goals that may or may not include abstinence. d. It removes the client's autonomy in choosing their recovery pathway. e. It prioritizes immediate cessation of substance use above all else.

8. According to the text, what percentage of individuals with PTSD also have a substance use disorder (SUD)?

a. 15% b. 25% c. 35% d. 46% e. 55%

9. A core principle of trauma-informed care emphasizes:

a. Ignoring past trauma to focus on present recovery. b. Prioritizing confrontation to challenge maladaptive behaviors. c. Realizing the widespread effects of trauma and various paths to recovery. d. Minimizing the client's role in their treatment plan. e. Focusing solely on the individual's trauma without considering the environment.

10. Which of the following is NOT considered a form of trauma associated with problematic substance use, as discussed in the text?

a. Adverse childhood experiences b. Historical trauma c. Financial stability and career success d. Intimate partner violence e. Military combat trauma

11. Which of the following is NOT a component of the FRAMES approach in Motivational Interviewing (MI)?

a. Feedback b. Responsibility c. Punishment d. Advice e. Empathy

12. What does the acronym OARS represent in Motivational Interviewing core skills?

a. Open questions, Offering advice, Reflecting, Summarizing b. Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarizing c. Observing, Affirming, Responding, Summarizing d. Open-ended questions, Assertiveness, Reflective listening, Supporting e. Observing, Asking questions, Reflecting, Summarizing

13. In Motivational Interviewing, what does "change talk" refer to?

a. Statements indicating resistance to change. b. Statements expressing the desire, ability, reasons, and need for change. c. Statements summarizing the counselor's suggestions. d. Statements expressing the client's past failures. e. Statements solely focused on the negative aspects of substance use.

14. The DARN-CAT acronym in MI categorizes:

a. Types of sustain talk. b. Different types of change talk. c. Methods for providing feedback. d. Strategies for building rapport with clients. e. Types of trauma-related symptoms.

15. A benefit of using Motivational Interviewing (MI) in recovery is:

a. Guaranteed immediate cessation of substance use. b. Improved treatment attendance. c. Elimination of all ambivalence towards change. d. Always resulting in long-term positive behavior changes without relapse. e. Elimination of the need for other treatment approaches.

16. Family therapy approaches in substance use recovery aim to:

a. Focus solely on the person with the SUD, excluding the family. b. Strengthen families and address challenges using family dynamics. c. Ignore the impact of substance use on family relationships. d. Place blame on family members for the individual's substance use. e. Focus solely on the needs of the person in recovery.

17. Problematic substance use affects:

a. Only the individual using substances. b. Only the immediate family of the individual using substances. c. The individual, their family, and potentially their community. d. The individual but has no significant impact on their family. e. The individual and their immediate family, but not their extended family.

18. Which of the following is NOT a focus of the NIH harm reduction research network?

a. Testing the effectiveness of various harm reduction interventions. b. Improving the sustainability of harm reduction services. c. Increasing individual and community engagement in research initiatives. d. Funding the direct purchase of needles and syringes for distribution. e. Assessing the reach and implementation of harm reduction services.

19. The approximate total funding for the nine research projects and coordinating center over five years is:

a. $5 million. b. $15 million. c. $36 million (pending availability of funds). d. $100 million. e. $1 billion.

20. The NIH's newly established harm reduction research network primarily aims to:

a. Develop new synthetic drugs to replace fentanyl. b. Increase funding for existing drug treatment programs. c. Test community-based approaches to prevent drug overdoses and reduce fatalities. d. Investigate the long-term effects of opioid addiction on brain function. e. Restrict access to naloxone and fentanyl test strips.

21. A significant factor driving the increase in overdose deaths in the U.S. is:

a. The rising cost of prescription opioids. b. An increase in the availability of substance abuse treatment programs. c. The proliferation of cheap, potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl contaminating the drug supply. d. Increased public awareness campaigns about the dangers of drug abuse. e. Research into effective harm reduction strategies.

22. The harm reduction strategies being tested by the research network include:

a. Mandatory drug testing for all individuals. b. Increased law enforcement presence in drug-affected communities. c. Distributing naloxone and fentanyl test strips, and utilizing mobile vans for service delivery. d. Focusing solely on long-term residential treatment options. e. Implementing strict regulations on the sale of over-the-counter medications.

23. One key aspect of the NIH HEAL Initiative's approach is:

a. To solely focus on law enforcement solutions to the opioid crisis. b. To ignore the needs of rural communities affected by the opioid crisis. c. To primarily focus on punishment rather than treatment for drug users. d. To promote evidence-based harm reduction strategies with community engagement and a focus on populations disproportionately affected. e. To eliminate all funding for harm reduction initiatives.

24. How many people died from an overdose in the United States in 2021?

a. More than 107,000 b. More than 120,000 c. More than 115,000 d. More than 200,000

Course Description

This course covers two articles that focus on the topic of harm reduction from different angles. The first explores ways that counselors can use harm reduction and other evidence-based interventions to help clients achieve recovery goals related to substance use. It recommends combining a variety of psychosocial interventions and frameworks in order to best support clients in maintaining recovery and preventing recurrence. It highlights family and social support and peer support services as two important factors in facilitating recovery. The second shorter article describes a research network that has been developed by the National Insttite of Health to test harm reduction strategies in different communities. It gives a short overview of the concept of harm reduction and then describes the nine research projects that will be part of the new harm reduction research network.

Learning Objectives

Define the concept of harm reduction
List a number of evidence-based interventions that counselors can use to support clients in substance-use recovery.
Describe the research projects being conducted by the National Institute of Health�s research network.

Source

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Organization (SAMHSA)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)

MFT / LCSW