New! Harm Reduction Column from our trainer Ferry Barendregt:

I have talked to quite a few people who have used drugs but now have a much better grip on their lives. Some have even stopped completely. I asked them what or who helped them do that. What struck me is that most of them told me they stopped when they were at a crossroads: continue and suffer or stop and radically change course.

“Unfortunately,” you think then. Because how nice it would be if there was a golden tip, a magic key to recovery – for example, that it all started with a counselor. But that was rarely the case. That golden tip simply does not exist.

Still, healthcare providers can learn a lot from this. You don’t have to save someone, that rarely works. Just be really there for someone, in both good times and in bad times, without trying to fix them. That is invaluable. When we see someone as a human being, not as a client, addict or problem, it makes a world of difference. And often you don’t even realize how much impact that may have. As a result, they are still standing.

So: don’t lock yourself in your office. Sit among people. Have a chat, even if there is no agenda. Have conversations not only when you need or want to know something, but also just from person to person.