BHN Spring 2018 Issue

• April 1st, 2018
• addiction treatment, behavioral health, harm reduction, healthcare interventions, public health, recovery support, risk reduction, substance use disorders
• 1722    0

"Harm Reduction: Theory and Practice”   Articles in This...

Supervised Injection Facilities: A Logical Progression in Harm Reduction or a Bridge Too Far?

• By: Ashley Brody, MPA, CPRP Search for Change, Inc.
• April 1st, 2018
• drug-related crime reduction, harm reduction, infectious disease prevention, opioid epidemic, overdose prevention, public health policy, substance use treatment, supervised injection facilities
• 1728    0

The scourge of opiate abuse continues to rage unabated. It claimed 42,000 lives in 2016, more than in any previous year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). That’s 115 human lives per day. Five of our brothers and sisters are lost each hour. One of our parents, spouses, sons or...

Boulevard Outpatient Stabilization Program

• By: Elliot Zimpfer, LMHC, CASAC Horizon Health Services
• April 1st, 2018
• behavioral health interventions, family therapy, medication-assisted treatment, opioid addiction, outpatient stabilization, recovery management, relapse prevention, substance use disorder treatment
• 1658    0

According to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (2016), facilities were asked how many patients in treatment on 03/21/16 received MAT for detoxification and maintenance purposes. Within this survey, MAT includes the use of methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of...

Through Health Care System Integration

• By: Lisa Strouss, PharmD Jameelah Melton, MD ODH, Inc.
• April 1st, 2018
• care coordination, co-occurring conditions, harm reduction, health system fragmentation, healthcare access, social determinants of health, substance use disorders, value-based care
• 1621    0

In many communities, harm reduction programs have helped prevent overdoses, lower HIV risk and hepatitis transmission and open the door to treatment for substance users. Originally started in the late 1980s, harm reduction approaches introduced syringe exchange initiatives with the goal of reducing...

Harm Reduction: Theory and Practice

• By: Lloyd I. Sederer, MD
• April 1st, 2018
• addiction treatment, criminal justice diversion, harm reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), opioid epidemic, overdose prevention, substance use disorders
• 2458    0

If we want to reduce the harm that derives from psychoactive substances, we need to begin by ending two ineffective, enduring and hugely expensive policies and practices in this country. Then we can get to true harm reduction. The first are strategies that seek to control access to and...

CoveCare and MHA Putnam Team up to Provide Continuity and Services

• By: Staff Writer Behavioral Health News
• April 1st, 2018
• addiction recovery, harm reduction, medication-assisted treatment, opioid overdose prevention, public health crisis, recovery support services, substance use treatment, syringe exchange programs
• 1762    0

CoveCare Center and the Mental Health Association in Putnam (MHA) have formed an affiliation that will leverage the strengths of both organizations in order to continue and grow the robust mental health services available to residents of Putnam and neighboring counties. Through this partnership,...

Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education for Specialized Populations

• By: Jason B. Conover, LCAT, CASAC AHRC New York City
• April 1st, 2018
• adapted curricula, communication skills, community education, coping skills development, evidence-based practice, holistic health approach, intellectual and developmental disabilities, substance use prevention
• 1891    0

Evidence based practice curricula for drug and alcohol prevention education in the United States are designed for high-school and college age individuals. However, it is the philosophy of our program that prevention can be provided, and have an impact, throughout the life span of an individual. It...

Legalization of Drugs: The Ultimate Harm Reduction Measure

• By: Michael B. Friedman, LMSW Columbia University School of Social Work
• April 1st, 2018
• addiction treatment, drug decriminalization, drug legalization, drug policy reform, drug-related violence, harm reduction, incarceration impact, public health approach
• 1857    0

Illegal drugs are dangerous, but many of their dangers are caused by their illegality rather than the drugs themselves. Yes, the use of illegal (and some legal) drugs results in addiction. But if we really want to reduce the dangers of drug abuse, we must address its illegality as well as the...

Finding the Right Recovery Path: Welcoming Everyone into Treatment

• By: Arlene González-Sánchez NY State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS)
• April 1st, 2018
• abstinence-based treatment, addiction treatment, evidence-based practice, harm reduction, patient-centered care, recovery pathways, relapse prevention, substance use disorder
• 1853    0

This nation is in an epidemic. There are no two ways about it. By now you have undoubtedly heard that more people died of overdose in New York State in 2016 than died of motor vehicle accidents, homicide and suicide, combined. In responding to this crisis, we do not have the luxury of closing our...

Our Realizations and Truths About Harm Reduction

• By: Nelly Ms. Arnell Michael Kareem Blake Marabelle Simone Douglas Ronald Services for the UnderServed (S:US)
• April 1st, 2018
• addiction, behavioral change, coping strategies, employment and housing, harm reduction, mindfulness, substance use recovery, triggers and environment
• 1830    0

Looking around the room in our focus group, we all realized two really interesting things about who we are and where we’ve been. Number one, that none of us were kids anymore, which is a nice way of saying that most of us already crossed the threshold of mid-life and were heading somewhere on the...