Differences Between the Disease Model and the Harm Reduction Model Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Disease Model Treatment Implications A lasting total abstinence from all psychoactive substances is perceived to be the only acceptable treatment goal. The disease model also considers confrontational and coercive tactics as essential to break through denial. Disease model views successful recovery as requiring acceptance of the disease, hopelessness, and submit to a higher power (McCrady & Epstein, 1999). Harm Reduction Model Harm reduction infers a model that aids clients control their drinking and drug use. The model does not pay attention to the notion of addiction as a disease but addresses the consequences of high risk behavior, such as substance abuse. The model does not promote total abstinence; rather, it promotes changes in behavior that will minimize harm to the individual who chose high risk behavior. Similarly, the model with its empowerment emphasis perceives consumers as both a teacher and a learner and desists from the use of labels and forced dichotomies. Harm reduction model encompasses a set of practical strategies that minimize negative consequences flowing from drug use and incorporates a continuum of strategies from safer use to managed use and abstinence. We will write a custom essay sample on Differences Between the Disease Model and the Harm Reduction Model or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Harm reduction strategies pursue substance abusers â€Å"where they are at, † addressing the conditions of use, as well as the use itself. The approach matches recovery to any positive change, whereby recovery is a process in which the consumer outlines the tempo and parameters of that process (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 2002). However, harm reduction is not tacit consent to drug use, anti-abstinence, or a â€Å"Trojan horse† for drug legalization. Principles of Harm Reduction The approach accommodates user’s decision to use. In addition, the approach allows drug users to be treated with dignity. The model allows the drug user to take responsibility for his or her behavior. Furthermore, drug users have a voice on a broad array of issues, especially those affecting them directly. In the model, there are no pre- defined outcomes with the aim of reducing harm rather than consumption. Differences between the Disease Model and the Harm Reduction Model Harm reduction model accommodates that drug use is a reality, and pursues to minimize  harmful effects, instead of simply ignoring or condemning drug users. The model understands drug use as an intricate, multifaceted phenomenon embracing a spectrum of behaviors from dependence to abstinence, and accommodates the view that some ways of drug use are concisely safer than others.