An introduction to harm reduction in OT practice

Harm reduction is both a philosophy and a framework focused on reducing adverse health effects from behaviors that may cause physical or mental harm. Although its principles are often applied to substance use, harm reduction can be applied across all occupational therapy settings and to any behavior that can be made less risky, such as eating habits, contact sports, or managing chronic illness. Harm reduction approaches enhance occupational therapy practitioners’ (OTPs’) goal to increase participation while reducing potential harms associated with desired occupations.