Building and Facilitating a Harm Reduction Team

Abstract

An effective team is the heart of the harm reduction (HR) approach. As such, there is no more important goal than to build a flexible, collaborative, and caring HR team and keep it going so long as the client is at risk. This chapter describes characteristics of effective HR team members, such as members who are patient, have useful skills, and have low-conflict relationships with team members and with the client who hoards. The chapter describes the process of inviting people to join the harm reduction team and the use of motivational interviewing to engage and re-engage team members in the harm reduction process. The chapter concludes with guidelines to plan and structure effective HR team meetings, such as setting the agenda for meetings, prioritizing agenda items, and managing time.