Safety Plan
A collaboratively developed, written intervention tool listing warning signs, coping strategies, social supports, and crisis contacts that a patient agrees to use before acting on suicidal urges.
Full Definition
A safety plan is a structured, personalised document created jointly by a clinician and a patient at elevated risk of suicide. It typically includes the patient's personal warning signs, internal coping strategies, social contacts for distraction, people to contact in crisis, professional contacts and crisis lines, and means restriction steps. Unlike a 'no-suicide contract,' a safety plan is considered evidence-based and is recommended by organisations such as the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Editors should not conflate safety plan with 'crisis plan,' 'no-harm contract,' or 'discharge instructions,' though these may coexist in a clinical record.
Usage
Usage note: Do not substitute with 'no-suicide contract' or 'safety contract.' The safety plan is a collaborative tool, not a contractual agreement, and the distinction is clinically and legally significant.
In Context
- "A completed safety plan was documented in the chart and a copy given to the patient prior to discharge from the psychiatric emergency department." — Discharge documentation
- "Editors should note that 'safety contract' and 'safety plan' are not interchangeable; the former lacks empirical support and may carry liability implications." — Editorial style guide