Interactive Safety Plan Template: Build a Crisis Safety Plan Step by Step
Build a crisis safety plan step by step, on your own, with someone you trust or with your clinician. Read it back as one page, then copy it to your phone or print it.
MentalycYou still can. Fill it in with someone you trust if possible, keep it on your phone, and share it with your doctor or therapist. If you’re under 18, do this with a parent, caregiver or another adult you trust – especially step 6. If you might act on thoughts of suicide now: Call or text 988 (US and Canada). In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. Elsewhere, find a helpline in your country.
Complete with a clinician; in immediate danger call or text 988 (US and Canada), or the local crisis line or emergency number elsewhere.
About the technique
About the techniqueThe Safety Planning Intervention, developed by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown, is a brief, collaborative intervention in which a clinician and a person at risk of suicide write down, in the person’s own words, a prioritized list of steps to use in a crisis (Stanley & Brown, 2012). The plan starts with personal warning signs, then moves through internal coping strategies, people and places that offer distraction, people who can help, and professional and crisis contacts, and includes making the environment safer, especially by limiting access to lethal means.
It plans ahead for a state in which problem-solving is hard, so the next step is already written down. In a large emergency-department cohort study, the intervention with follow-up calls was associated with 45% fewer suicidal behaviors over six months and more outpatient treatment engagement (Stanley et al., 2018). A meta-analysis of six studies found that safety planning-type interventions reduced suicidal behavior, with a relative risk of 0.57, but found no significant effect on suicidal ideation (Nuij et al., 2021). This evidence comes from plans made in clinical care.
It suits teens and adults with suicidal thoughts, after a crisis or at discharge, and should be revisited as treatment continues. With a teen, involve a parent or caregiver, especially in securing lethal means. The step wording here is our own, not the original form. A plan written alone is a starting point to bring to a clinician, not a substitute for risk assessment or ongoing care. In immediate danger, call or text 988 in the US or contact local emergency services.
For therapists: how to run it
For therapists: how to run itGoal
Leave the session with a written plan, in the client's own words, that they can reach on their phone in a crisis.
In session
- Video: share this tab and type as the client talks, so they see every line and can correct it. In person: sit side by side.
- Go one step at a time with Next step and Back (the line at the top shows which step you're on), and use the "Ask" prompt on each screen. Write it in the client's own words; the idea chips are only starting points.
- On step 5, add your own number and local services. On step 6, plan lethal-means safety concretely (who holds what, where).
- On the last step, read the whole plan back from the preview, ask how likely they are to use it, then copy it to the client's phone (pinned note plus screenshot) or print it, and paste a copy into your record.
As homework
Not given as self-guided homework. Use it together in session.
A safety plan is best made with a clinician as part of care, but anyone can start one and bring it to their next appointment. It does not replace care. The steps follow published safety-planning research (see Sources); the wording is our own. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local emergency number. In the US, call or text 988.
Worksheets that pair with this tool
Worksheets that pair with this tool
Triggers and Coping Skills Worksheet
One table pairing each personal trigger with its impact and the coping strategy to use.
Coping Skills Log Worksheet
A one-page table rating emotions before and after a skill, so clients see which ones actually work.
Behavioral Activation Worksheet
The core activity-and-mood log and a seven-day planner grid, plus a guide to using them in session.Sources & credibility
Sources & credibility- Method
- Based on the Safety Planning Intervention (Stanley & Brown, 2012)
- Developed by
- Barbara Stanley and Gregory K. Brown
- First described
- 2012
- Approach
- Suicide prevention / CBT
- Evidence
- Supported by studiesBased on the Safety Planning Intervention (Stanley & Brown, 2012); the step wording here is our own. The intervention with follow-up calls reduced suicidal behavior in a large emergency-department cohort study, and a meta-analysis found fewer suicidal behaviors with safety planning-type interventions. It works as part of clinical care; a plan made alone is a start to bring to a clinician.
References
- Stanley B. & Brown G. K. (2012). Safety planning intervention: a brief intervention to mitigate suicide risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(2), 256–264. Source
- Stanley B. et al. (2018). Comparison of the Safety Planning Intervention with follow-up vs usual care of suicidal patients treated in the emergency department. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(9), 894–900. Source
- Nuij C. et al. (2021). Safety planning-type interventions for suicide prevention: meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 219(2), 419–426. Source
How it was made
Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.
Questions people ask
Questions people askHow do I write a safety plan?
A safety plan is best written with a clinician, but anyone can start one. It lists warning signs, coping strategies, people and places that help, professionals and crisis lines to contact, and steps to make the environment safer. Share it with your doctor or therapist.
What are the six elements of a safety plan?
Safety plans based on the Safety Planning Intervention have six steps: warning signs, internal coping strategies, social contacts and settings for distraction, people to ask for help, professionals and crisis services, and making the environment safe. This tool follows the same structure in its own words, and includes a reason for living.
Is a safety plan enough on its own?
No. A safety plan supports ongoing care and does not replace a risk assessment or treatment. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local emergency number. In the US and Canada you can also call or text 988; elsewhere, find a crisis line at findahelpline.com.
Problem or idea? Tell us (opens in a new tab)
Made for use in therapy: a licensed mental health professional decides whether a tool suits their client and guides its use.
Educational practice aid, not a medical device. Not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis or emergency care.