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As deaths from drug overdoses , the Boston College School of Social Work has been refining a strategy to give master鈥檚 students the skills to help clients cope with substance use disorders.
The plan of action, supported by a two-year grant, combines coursework with experiential learning opportunities at clinics that focus on keeping people who use drugs safe and alive until they are ready to seek treatment.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to meet clients where they are,鈥� said Cindy Gordon, a part-time faculty member who is coordinating the program for 糖心vlog直播平台SSW. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stigma around substance use disorder, and we really have to acknowledge the struggle, recognize where someone is, and support any progress that has been made.鈥�
RIZE Massachusetts, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to ending the opioid epidemic in the Bay State, awarded 糖心vlog直播平台SSW nearly $80,000 in June 2021 to establish a pipeline of social workers who are trained to help reduce the negative consequences of drug use.聽
In the first year of the two-year program, four students completed paid internships at clinics that promote a public health strategy known as harm reduction, which aims to lessen the risk of overdose and decrease the transmission of blood borne viruses caused by intravenous drug use.聽
One of those students was Anthony Jojola, who worked at the in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Jojola said that he primarily helped his clients develop strategies to cut down on their drug use, which often included heroin, cocaine, and prescription painkillers. He liked to practice narrative therapy, encouraging them to externalize problems and create stories to reconsider situations from more positive points of view.
鈥淭hey just needed to have a space to vent but also express a lot of things and start naming things for themselves,鈥� said Jojola, who is pursuing the M.S.W./M.A.dual degree program in social work and theology and ministry and plans to graduate in 2023. 鈥淚t was really just trying to figure out what they needed, but also how I could best tailor my approach to help.鈥�
“It鈥檚 so important to meet clients where they are. There鈥檚 a lot of stigma around substance use disorder, and we really have to acknowledge the struggle, recognize where someone is, and support any progress that has been made.”
He quickly learned two things: how hard it is to break the cycle of addiction and why harm reduction methods, such offering supervised consumption sites, can help prevent overdoses. 鈥淭he important thing is meeting who you鈥檙e working with where they鈥檙e at,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 much good that comes from saying 鈥榡ust don鈥檛 use鈥� because there鈥檚 really no correct cookie cutter answer for how to fix things.鈥�
Jojola applied these lessons in his 鈥淔amily Therapy鈥� course, where students were tasked with creating a fictional family and assigning attributes to each member. The class gave the father a cocaine addiction, and when one student suggested that the dad needed to be given an ultimatum to stop, Jojola spoke up.聽
鈥淢y pushback was like, we need to know why he鈥檚 using and how long he鈥檚 been using,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e not going to get him to just say he鈥檚 going to stop. And even if he does stop, he鈥檚 probably going to relapse and we鈥檒l need to develop a plan to support him.鈥�
The principles of harm reduction are explicitly taught in two courses鈥斺�淪ubstance Use Disorders鈥� and 鈥淧ublic Health Social Work.鈥� But Gordon, MSW鈥�93, said that the school is working to further integrate the strategy into the curriculum, with a particular focus on the interplay between trauma and drug misuse.
She rattled off a couple of questions that will guide a proposal to revamp the curriculum: 鈥淎re we attending to a person鈥檚 trauma and how that may impact their use? Are we attending to the person鈥檚 race, culture, and socioeconomic status?鈥�
Bridget McAdams, MSW鈥�22, said that harm reduction came up often in the trauma-focused courses that she took. 鈥淗arm reduction is essential in trauma recovery work,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were taught that you absolutely have to meet a client where they are.鈥�
That philosophy guided her work at , a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Watertown, Massachusetts. As part of 糖心vlog直播平台SSW鈥檚 first cohort of Harm Reduction Training Scholars, McAdams provided individual and group therapy to clients recovering from substance use disorders and co-occurring conditions such as bulimia.
Cindy Gordon
鈥淩egardless of the 鈥榩roblem鈥� behavior a client presents with, harm reduction can be a great way to join with the client in clarifying the 鈥榩roblem鈥� and establishing goals,鈥� said McAdams, who has a background in helping people recover from eating disorders. 鈥淚 learned how important it is as a clinician to let go of your own agenda for the client in order to be effective.鈥�
Her supervisor, James Patterson, described her as 鈥渃reative,鈥� 鈥渆mpathetic鈥� and 鈥減roactive.鈥� He said she had 鈥渇irst-rate assessment skills鈥� and a unique ability to deliver run-of-the-mill information in fresh and exciting ways.聽
鈥淪he became the go-to magnet when anyone had a co-occurring eating disorder. And that proved to be very useful and helpful,鈥� said Patterson, MSW鈥�14, who serves as Right Turn鈥檚 clinical director. 鈥淲e had a couple of cases of people whose eating disorder was arguably more severe than their substance use disorder, and she helped us navigate that.鈥�
Gordon said that the school has already selected the second group of HaRT Scholars, noting that three of them identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As overdoses continue to increase in and populations, the school has been working to promote the program to BIPOC students鈥攁n approach that aligns with its commitment to training social workers who reflect the demographics of the people they serve.
The five new students will begin their internships in August. Their field placements will include the at Massachusetts General Hospital, and , a bilingual behavioral health clinic.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough about how great it is that we are focusing on harm reduction and how this is really going to inform the work we do,鈥� said Gordon. 鈥淚鈥檓 just hoping that this is really successful and that it can touch all of our programs across the board.鈥�