Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADC Licensed Psychologist Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor
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Bridging the Gap from Abstinence-Based Addiction Treatment to Harm Reduction Treatment: My Personal Journey. Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADC Licensed Psychologist Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Porch to Portland. War on Drugs = War on People. War on people . Facing the Gap. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADC Licensed Psychologist Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Bridging the Gap from Abstinence-Based Addiction
Treatment to Harm Reduction Treatment:
My Personal Journey
Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADCLicensed Psychologist
Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Porch to Portland
War on Drugs =War on People
• War on people
Facing the Gap
Objectives IIlustrate what contributed to the
gap, for me, between Abstinence-Based (AB) and Harm Reduction (HR) treatment.
Offer a systems approach to facilitate the transition to HR.
Share a perspective to allow others to integrate HR into their work.
My path to HR:Career Summary
• Training/Workplace dichotomy
• Career burnout
• Profound personal experience
• Public health advocacy
Client-Centered & Developmental:What I Learned
Carl Rogers Lifespan Development
Conflicting Views:What I Learned vs, What I Was
Doing
vs.
Conflicting Views:What I Learned vs. What I Was
Doing
vs
Managed Care: A Two Headed Monster
Training & Professional Experience
A Systems View
Family Therapy School Psychology
Training & Professional Experience:
Path to Independent Practice
Career Burnout
Personal Experience: My Nephew
Personal Experience: My Nephew
• Perfect storm of:
• treatment gap
• addiction stigma
• system-wide failure
Personal Experience: My Nephew
• Tough Love prevented crucial connection to loved ones
• My “expert” role was bogus
• Returned to my roots of addiction treatment
Transition Begins:Back to the Future
(2011)
Learning About Public Health Policy
Witnessing the Gap in the Professional Community
Drug Policy Alliance2011 Conference
Engaging in Public Health Advocacy
Grief Recovery After a Substance
Passing
www.grasphelp.org
Broken No More
www.broken-no-more.org
When Grief Support Vanishes
My path to HR:Career Summary
• What I learned vs. What I did
• Career burnout
• Profound personal experience
• Public health advocacy
A-HA Moment!
From Transition...
...To Transformation
Moving forward...
Systems Interaction:Micro vs. Macro
Connecting the Dots
My BurnoutMy Burnout
Blame Blame AddictAddict
How Systems Inform Us:Micro vs Macro
StigmatiziStigmatizing, ng,
criminalizicriminalizing system ng system
Micro View Macro View
How Systems Inform Us: Micro vs. Macro
Micro Macro
More Effective More Effective ClinicianClinician
Empower to Empower to educate/changeeducate/change
Integrating and Evolving...
Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADCLicensed Psychologist
Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor1244 Ft. Washington
Ave.Suite E2Ft. Washington, PA 19034
Resources• “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts”,
Gabor Mate’• Practicing Harm Reduction
Psychotherapy, Patt Denning & Jeannie Little
• Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, Andrew Tatarsky
Resources• www.gradualismandaddiction.org ,
Scott Kellogg• Coming to Harm Reduction Kicking
and Screaming, Dee Dee Stout• How to Manage Your Drinking,
Kenneth Anderson
