Why the Polarizing of Addiction Professionals Regarding Abstinence versus Harm Reduction Therapy is so Absurd

During the past 20 years I’ve been in practice, I have found that all addiction treatments are, in fact, some form of harm reduction. We’ve yet to find an infallible treatment for addictions and substance use disorders. However, the change in the DSM terminology is very significant. It differentiates diagnoses of substance abuse and chemical dependency from its evolved diagnosis of substance use disorder - mild, moderate or severe. Those with severe diagnoses (co-morbidity involving diabetes, liver damage, severe psychiatric conditions, dementia, legal, etc) would certainly be appropriate candidates for abstinence over moderation. But as I see it, at the end of the day, from moderation to abstinence it’s all harm reduction