Right or Wrong: The Ethics of Harm Reduction
Wednesday June 10 2026 – 9am-12:15pm
Tri-County Board Administration & Training Center
1280 N. County Road 25A, Troy
3 CEUs available
CEUS for this training are provided through the SUD Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University. The following CEUs have been approved for this training:
Tri-County Board Administration & Training Center
1280 N. County Road 25A, Troy
3 CEUs available
CEUS for this training are provided through the SUD Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University. The following CEUs have been approved for this training:
- Counselor: 3.0
- LPN: 3.0
- RN: 3.0
- SW: 3.0
- OCDP: (C9) 3.0
- Ethics Contact Hours: 3.0
- Nursing Contact Hours: 3.0
NOTE: Registration for this course and Foundations of Severe and Persistent Mental Health Disorders will be managed directly by the SUD COE.
REGISTER HERE
Presenter: Amanda Kantaras, M.Ed, LPCC-S, LICDC
Trainer SUD COE
Center for Evidence Based Practices
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
Abstract:
Historically, the United States has emphasized abstinence-based approaches to addressing substance use, shaping both public perception and professional practice. While harm reduction strategies are supported by a robust and growing body of research demonstrating their effectiveness in reducing morbidity, mortality, and associated health and social harms (Hawk et al., 2017; Logan & Marlatt, 2010), many professionals still express hesitancy, discomfort, or ethical uncertainty about implementing such approaches—particularly when individuals’ goals do not align with total abstinence. This training explores the intersection of ethics and harm reduction, inviting participants to critically examine their own values, beliefs, and professional responsibilities in working with individuals who use substances.
Participants will review key historical, cultural, and systemic factors that have contributed to the stigmatization of substance use and those affected by it. The workshop will differentiate between morals, values, and ethics and examine how these concepts interact in decision-making across disciplines, including behavioral health, social work, counseling, medicine, and allied health. Using the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice, participants will explore how harm reduction aligns with professional codes of ethics and supports person-centered, evidence-based care. Through case discussions and experiential activities drawn from diverse practice settings, participants will strengthen their capacity to integrate ethical reasoning with harm reduction principles, balancing professional obligations with personal values to enhance engagement, safety, and outcomes for individuals and communities impacted by substance use. The Center for Evidence-Based Practices incorporates exercises and case examples specific to the unique practice settings of participants to promote knowledge transfer and skill application practice.
Objectives:
8:30 - 9:00 am
Other Notes:
Nurses will earn 3.0 contact hours by attending the full training and submitting both an evaluation and a completion form.
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Montana Nurses Association, an accredited approver with distinction, by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Trainer SUD COE
Center for Evidence Based Practices
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
Abstract:
Historically, the United States has emphasized abstinence-based approaches to addressing substance use, shaping both public perception and professional practice. While harm reduction strategies are supported by a robust and growing body of research demonstrating their effectiveness in reducing morbidity, mortality, and associated health and social harms (Hawk et al., 2017; Logan & Marlatt, 2010), many professionals still express hesitancy, discomfort, or ethical uncertainty about implementing such approaches—particularly when individuals’ goals do not align with total abstinence. This training explores the intersection of ethics and harm reduction, inviting participants to critically examine their own values, beliefs, and professional responsibilities in working with individuals who use substances.
Participants will review key historical, cultural, and systemic factors that have contributed to the stigmatization of substance use and those affected by it. The workshop will differentiate between morals, values, and ethics and examine how these concepts interact in decision-making across disciplines, including behavioral health, social work, counseling, medicine, and allied health. Using the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice, participants will explore how harm reduction aligns with professional codes of ethics and supports person-centered, evidence-based care. Through case discussions and experiential activities drawn from diverse practice settings, participants will strengthen their capacity to integrate ethical reasoning with harm reduction principles, balancing professional obligations with personal values to enhance engagement, safety, and outcomes for individuals and communities impacted by substance use. The Center for Evidence-Based Practices incorporates exercises and case examples specific to the unique practice settings of participants to promote knowledge transfer and skill application practice.
Objectives:
- Analyze key historical, cultural, and policy developments that have contributed to the stigmatization of individuals with substance use disorders and evaluate how these factors may influence provider attitudes and implicit bias in clinical practice.
- Differentiate between morals, values, and ethical principles within the context of harm reduction and their relevance to professional decision-making and personalized care.
- Identify and compare core ethical principles shared across professional codes of conduct for counselors, social workers, medical providers, and addiction professionals, and examine their alignment with harm reduction philosophy.
- Describe strategies clinicians can use to balance personal belief systems with professional ethical responsibilities when implementing harm reduction approaches.
- Apply the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence (“do no harm”) to clinical scenarios involving harm reduction in substance use treatment.
8:30 - 9:00 am
- Registration
- Prohibition Era
- Harrison Narcotics Act
- War on Drugs and Just Say No Campaign
- Stigmatizing language used to describe people who use substances
- Media portrayal of people who use substances
- Definitions of values, morals, ethics and laws
- University of Oxford research study review of universal morals as applied to treatment
- Definitions of Utilitarian and Deontological ethical schools of thought
- American Counseling Association ethical principles
- National Association of Social Workers ethical principles
- National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors ethical principles
- American Medical Association ethical principles
- Harm Reduction principles
- BREAK
- Lowering thresholds
- Conveying a neutral stance
- Explore an individual’s relationship with substances
- Collaboration
- Create a therapeutic relationship
- Ethical Decision-Making Model
- Ohio Code of Ethics for Chemical Dependency Counselor Rule 4758-8-01
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Research Outcomes
- Debunking the myth that harm reduction encourages drug use through research review
- Question & Answer
- Evaluation and closing remarks
Other Notes:
Nurses will earn 3.0 contact hours by attending the full training and submitting both an evaluation and a completion form.
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Montana Nurses Association, an accredited approver with distinction, by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
