Foundations of Harm Reduction: Client-Centered Approaches to Substance Use & Risk
Presented by
Dreya Blume, LCSWAttendees will leave with tools for engaging in nonjudgmental dialogue, supporting safer use practices, and fostering readiness for change while strengthening therapeutic alliance and promoting client empowerment.
Overview
Recorded: March 2026 3 CEs Law and Ethics, also meets Health Equity and Cultural Competence requirements
Harm reduction offers a compassionate, client-centered alternative to all-or-nothing approaches to substance use. Rather than demanding abstinence, harm reduction meets people where they are, focusing on reducing risks, honoring autonomy, and supporting incremental change.
This training introduces psychotherapists to the foundations of harm reduction, exploring its philosophy, core principles, and practical applications in clinical practice.
Through discussion, case examples, and interactive reflection, participants will learn how to integrate harm reduction into their therapeutic work while maintaining empathy, collaboration, and respect for client goals.
Workshop Objectives:
Develop an understanding of the philosophy and core principles of harm reduction. Learn client-centered strategies to support safer use, incremental change, and self-determined goals. Identify ways to apply harm reduction practices in psychotherapy while maintaining ethical and collaborative care.
About the Presenter
Dreya Blume (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, author, and educator. Dreya began working in the mental health field in 2004 in southwest Virginia, where she spent almost two decades serving the local transgender community as a gender therapist. She recently moved to Durham, NC, where she focuses on offering continuing education training to therapists and coaching for private practice clinicians who want to expand their business uniquely. Dreya loves to write and is the author of several books, including, “The Tarot Activity Book: A Collection of Creative and Therapeutic Ideas for the Cards,” “Journaling the Tarot,” “Everyone Has a Story: Using the Hero’s Journey and Narrative Therapy to Reframe the Struggle of Mental Illness,” and “Tarot for Transformation: Using the Major Arcana to Discover Your Best Self and Create a Life Worth Living.” All of Dreya’s books (under her former name, Andy Matzner) are available here: https://dreyablume.com/books. Dreya is also passionate about teaching. Before becoming a mental health clinician, she spent many years teaching English as a Second Language in places such as Japan, Australia, Thailand, and Hawaii. Once in Virginia, Dreya worked as an adjunct professor for almost twenty years at Hollins University, teaching gender studies and sociology in their Master of Liberal Studies program. In addition, she spent twelve years teaching future social workers in the human services program at Virginia Western Community College. Learn more about Dreya on her website: https://dreyablume.com/.