This study looks at how professional counsellors think about and work with harm reduction in their everyday practice. Harm reduction focuses on reducing risk and increasing safety, particularly in relation to substance use, without requiring people to stop using substances altogether.
Although harm reduction is commonly used in many health and support services, it can feel complex or uncomfortable for some counsellors. It may raise questions about professional boundaries, ethical responsibilities, or how well harm reduction fits with different counselling approaches and guidance. At the moment, there is limited research that really listens to counsellors’ own experiences and views on this topic.
The aim of this study is to better understand how counsellors make sense of harm reduction, how they feel about using it in their work, and what they find helpful or challenging. By exploring these personal reflections, the research hopes to contribute to more informed discussions, training, and support for counsellors working with harm reduction in practice.
