Harm reduction applications include disease prevention, substance use, family and community violence, mental health, homelessness, criminal justice, and the sex industry. It is important to distinguish harm reduction, the public health movement , from other interventions which may also have the effect of reducing a harm. Not every approach that reduces harm can be considered harm reduction. The goal of harm reduction, for individuals to have lives that are as healthy and happy as possible, is applied holistically, and not to specific harms, isolated from the context of an individual's life. As such, the harm reduction approach is highly process oriented, and always specific to the individual's situation.
Empowerment is a key feature of the harm reduction approach.
As with many other movements for progressive social change, harm reduction draws heavily on the work of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. Harm reduction is an active process controlled and determined by the individuals who are taking steps to reduce harm to themselves and others. Each individual weighs a unique set of potential costs and benefits, both real and imagined, when they decide to engage in, or modify a behavior. The harm reduction approach involves empowering individuals to examine all of the costs and benefits of their behaviors, to discover the full range of choices that are available, then to take realistic, achievable steps to protect and help themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. Working with someone else in a harm reduction mode involves supporting the individual to identify and articulate problems and strategize solutions.