Abstract
Harm reduction approaches to heroin addiction treatment are safe and effective, particularly those using medication‐assisted therapy, yet they remain underutilized in the drug treatment field. This paper posits the need for a psychoanalytic formulation of harm reduction. It draws on object relations theory, to illustrate the ways in which harm reduction, as a philosophy and as a practice, maps onto the particular developmental and attachment themes of addiction. It explores heroin addiction and harm reduction at the intersection of the psyche and the social and calls upon psychoanalysis to challenge oppressive systems in the lives of heroin users.