Mona was so upset when her son Bryce came home with the
worst report card that anyone could ever imagine- straight F’s. Bryce failed every single subject! Mona, a single
mother who was completely consumed with many problems of her own, felt
disappointed, hurt and overwhelmed about this dilemma .She immediately sat down
with her son and let him know that she was expecting his grades to improve
immediately or there would be serious consequences
Bryce agreed to try harder but when he went back to school,
he still struggled and it wasn’t long before he found himself still unable to
pass a single class on his own in spite of his increased effort. One of Bryce’s
teachers saw that Bryce was at least showing up and trying harder this time so
he linked Bryce with some extra help by assigning Bryce a personal tutor for
the rest of the semester.
When
the semester ended, Bryce and his mother opened up his new report card to find
that this time Bryce got straight D’s in every class.
Discussion
– The Moral of the Story
Consider the following:
1 - If
you were Mona, how would you react to Bryce’s latest report card?
It is very likely that most people would react positively
to Bryce moving from all F’s to all D’s. Even though a report card of straight
D’s on its own in most situations would be considered to be less than
desirable, in Bryce’s situation it demonstrated significant improvement. The
new report card showed that things were at least now moving in a more positive
direction. It would probably be very discouraging and hurtful for Bryce if Mona
decided to withhold praise for Bryce’s improved effort and outcomes as he moved
up the ladder from F’s to D’s on his report card, wouldn’t you agree?
Meaning
1: This
illustrates a key aspect of Harm Reduction which is referred to as “Accepting
incremental change” – Simply put, people quite often tend to change
steadily and gradually over time rather than suddenly and quickly. So getting
back to this analogy of grades, it would be unfair to expect someone to go from
an “F” to an “A” – In this case the slow and steady but positive change from
F’s to D’s illustrates the idea of accepting and embracing change in this gradual,
person-centered manner over time. Similarly, expecting an individual to go from
using intravenous opioids on a daily basis for an extended period, to suddenly
go to complete abstinence is a similarly highly unrealistic expectation. Serious
addiction issues often require acceptance of incremental change over time based
on the Harm Reduction model.
2 –
Now suppose that Mona told Bryce she was pleased with his improved report card,
but then when she found out he had used a tutor to help improve, she again was
disappointed as she felt that the tutor was a “crutch” and Bryce should have
made the improvements on his own, without the tutor. Does this seem fair and
reasonable?
Meaning
2 – If
Mona were to refer to the tutor as a “crutch” and if she used this as an excuse
to minimize the progress that Bryce had made, this obviously would be very
unfair and unjust. The truth is that progress is progress, regardless of what
is needed to get there. This idea illustrates the negative attitude that some
individuals still have toward Medication Assisted Treatment- MAT: (Medications
prescribed to aid in the recovery from substance use disorders, particularly
with regard to opioid use disorders.) The truth is that MAT is like the tutor
in this example. Bryce tried on his own and he realized he was still struggling
so getting extra help from the tutor was just what he needed to get over the
hump and to start making more measurable improvements. Not only is there
nothing wrong with seeking a little extra help, in many cases it is advisable.
The same idea holds true with MAT: The right medications can be the difference
maker when it comes to helping someone who is struggling with a persistent
opioid use disorder to finally get to a safer place to then be able to continue
to get better over the long term.
Did
you understand the meaning? If you are a family member or loved one of someone who
is struggling with an opioid problem, rather than wait until “all else fails”
hopefully this illustration will help you consider an open-minded approach to
Harm Reduction and Medication Assisted Treatment. It is highly recommended to discuss this
perspective with a trained professional who is knowledgeable of Harm Reduction
and MAT for Opioid Use Disorders
"Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can" - Arthur Ashe
