Harm Reduction & Care Access / GRP453
Safety Goals without Gatekeeping — Scenario Card Exchange
Identify a harm-reduction goal that can be supported without requiring a particular recovery identity.
30 minutes · 3–12 people · Adults with trained group facilitation
Facilitator PDF · Fillable participant PDF · Open activity / add to session
UNDERSTAND THE IDEA
Access and safety are practical parts of recovery.
A care option is useful only if a person can reach and use it. Cost, transport, documentation, discrimination, hours, disability, and trust can shape access. A group can identify a barrier and a question to ask without prescribing a single recovery pathway.
Facilitation lens: Separate information the group knows from information a service must verify. Use current qualified resources for medical or overdose-prevention instruction.
Explore the conceptual background · Broad background, not validation of this original exercise.
Try a different interactive experience in the Activity Lab →
Fictional example
A member seeks practical safety information while considering longer-term change.
Open with choice — 3 minutes
Explain the purpose, privacy limits, and the option to observe, use fiction, adapt, or pass. Check access needs and group readiness; do not promise absolute confidentiality.
Meet the fictional case — 4 minutes
A member seeks practical safety information while considering longer-term change. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.
Practice: Card sort — 16 minutes
Identify a harm-reduction goal that can be supported without requiring a particular recovery identity. Using only the fictional case, make cards for the goal, a contextual barrier, an available support, an alternative, and a possible next step. Sort them into what is known, what needs checking, and what requires outside help; discuss cards that can fit more than one place.
Reflect and compare — 4 minutes
What help can be offered now? Ask what fits, what does not, and what external conditions or supports affect the options. No personal disclosure is required.
Close and integrate — 3 minutes
Invite an optional observation, support request, or small next step. Passing is welcome. Agree how to revisit questions and seek appropriate help outside the exercise.
Practice output
A card arrangement showing facts, questions, and support needs.
Scope and adaptation
Use ordinary or fictional examples, not graphic substance-use stories or cue exposure. No competitive abstinence scoring, forced disclosure, or required pathway. These plans do not manage intoxication, overdose, withdrawal, or medication changes; follow individualized care and appropriate medical assessment.
Offer reading aloud, typing, drawing, pointing, or observation. Avoid mandatory movement, eye contact, touch, and body focus.
Original AI-assisted educational draft; independent clinical review pending.
Conceptual background
References inform broad principles and do not validate or endorse this original plan.