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Harm reduction in community mental health settings
- Authors:
- MANCINI Michael A., LINHORST Donald M.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 9(2-3), April 2010, pp.130-147.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Fifty percent of people with psychiatric disabilities have a co-occurring substance misuse disorder, and are more likely to have a range of chronic disease conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and chronic pulmonary disease. Harm reduction is a conceptual framework and set of practices that focus on the minimisation of the physical, social, and legal harms substance users do to themselves and to society as a whole. Its application to community mental health settings is relatively new, and can create controversies and ethical dilemmas if not properly designed, implemented, and evaluated. Building on the harm reduction literature, the community mental health literature, and the authors' experiences with a community mental health programme that uses a harm reduction approach, the authors offer five guidelines for its successful implementation. The authors conclude that when properly integrated with other recovery-based services, and when appropriately applied to the individual client's stage of change, harm reduction can effectively be used, and should be used, in community mental health settings with clients with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders.
Drug courts and mental health courts: implications for social work
- Authors:
- TYUSE Sabrina W., LINHORST Donald M.
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Work, 30(3), August 2005, pp.233-240.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
In recent years communities across the United States have instituted specialized criminal courts for defendants with substance abuse disorders and mental illness. These specialized courts seek to prevent incarceration and facilitate community-based treatment for offenders, while at the same time protecting public safety. The authors describe two types of specialized courts: drug courts and mental health courts. They critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of these courts and conclude with implications for social work education, practice, research, and advocacy.