Harm reduction is central to social work education: Closing a critical training and practice gap

Harm reduction is an evidence-based, social justice-oriented approach that aims to reduce the negative consequences of drug use at systemic, community, and individual levels. Despite close alignment with Social Work, harm reduction is not uniformly integrated into social work education in the United States, leaving many social workers with limited capacity to integrate it in their practice settings. This commentary aims to 1) describe the history, principles, and concepts of harm reduction in relation to social work, 2) discuss how structural issues impact institutions and social work education, and 3) offer opportunities for integrating harm reduction ideology, knowledge, and skills into social work education.