EP 3:37 Harm Reduction for Chemsex Recovery with Taylor

Send us Fan Mail Supplemental Study Guide: https://www.recoveryalchemy.org/newsletters/blog/posts/reduction In this episode, Dallas sits down with harm reduction consultant and healthcare compliance officer Taylor Edelmann to explore one of the most contested yet evidence-supported approaches to chemsex recovery. Dallas frames harm reduction not as the opposite of abstinence but as a full spectrum of managed use, tapering, and planned use, and invites listeners who "just can't seem to stop" or who have never found a fit in traditional abstinence-based programs to stay informed and consider what the research actually shows. Taylor, founder of Needle in the Hey! Consulting and formerly of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, grounds the conversation in the principle of bodily autonomy—the right to make informed decisions about one's own body—and describes how harm reduction and gender-affirming care are braided movements. Together they name the layered realities facing queer and trans people who use drugs, from the minority stress model to the current wave of anti-trans legislation, and how shame and stigma only deepen the very suffering they claim to address. The second half of the conversation moves into practice and lived experience. Taylor draws on years as an HIV medical case manager and harm reduction trainer to illustrate how few providers—even within harm reduction spaces—understand chemsex or possess the "drug IQ" to serve MSM and trans clients well, pointing to his own small New York study that found most queer and trans people who use drugs were self-medicating alone rather than accessing programs. Dallas and Taylor discuss structured, metrics-based approaches to planned use that help clients rebuild agency, self-trust, and the felt sense that they can choose when and whether to use, and they explore the distinct ways chemsex intersects with body image, eating disorders, sex work, and HIV risk in trans communities. The episode closes with an invitation to be the executive of one's own recovery: to seek out peer-reviewed research, resist the reflexive shaming that dominates online discourse, and consider that for someone who keeps relapsing despite wanting to stop, harm reduction may be the approach that finally saves a life. Taylor's consulting practice, toolkit, and free organizational assessment are noted as available through his website, with contact details in the show notes. Contact Taylor: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/needleintheheyconsulting/ Website: https://needleinthehey.com/ Email: taylor@needleinthehey.com The AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dallas Bragg Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/newsletters/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout