Harm Reduction Therapy with Patt Denning

The Beyond Addiction Show

Dr. Josh King welcomes you to another episode and a new season of The Beyond Addiction Show.

Today, Dr. King is accompanied by Patt Denning, who is a licensed clinical psychologist, one of the primary developers of Harm Reduction Therapy, and a nationally recognized expert in dual diagnosis (co-occurring disorders). Her work in the bay area is so amazing and the story she has about how this treatment was developing over time is really inspiring. Patt is sharing in today’s episode her amazing professional journey that transformed the way in which we see substance use treatment.

Key Takeaways:

[2:15] Patt has transformed the world of substance use therapy.[3:08] Patt talks about the evolution of Harm Reduction Therapy.[10:14] Patt shares about her professional experience with the burst of the HIV epidemic which brought an epidemic of drug abuse.[12:00] Patt decided to stop referring the patients struggling with drug abuse and instead, treating them with her teams.[15:37] Patt tells when she heard about Harm Reduction for the first time.[19:16] Patt explains how Harm Reduction Therapy started.[21:30] Therapy needs to feel like a conversation, where people feel free to open up about their lives and the difficult experiences they experienced.[25:06] Patt and Jeannie decided to go non-profit.[28:37] Patt shares how they needed to rethink how they have been structuring therapy.[30:40] Patt describes the reason for therapist’s burnout.[34:25] Patt talks about how she admits to be enabling people to talk openly about their abuse and observing without judgment the harms that they are suffering.[35:58] What is driving the use or misuse of drugs?[36:58] Addiction is not a brain disease.[38:33] Patt talks about how she wrote Loving Someone Who Loves Drugs and Alcohol and how it is intended to reduce harm also in the families of those abusing drugs.[41:52] Suffering is not generally motivating.[43:35] Patt talks about the innovations that were imposed by COVID-19 but had a beginning two years before the pandemic.[49:00] Shifting the therapeutic frame had amazing results (but also brought challenges).[53:45] PPE (Personal protective equipment) was instituted in early February 2019.[57:13] Helping people meet their basic needs is also therapy. When people’s basic needs are met, they are not in survival mode anymore.[59:30] What is Patt’s plan for retirement?

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Beyond Addiction Show

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Harm Reduction Therapy

Over the Influence, Second Edition: The Harm Reduction Guide to Controlling Your Drug and Alcohol Use, Patt Denning and Jeannie Little