Safety Planning
A collaborative, structured process in which a clinician and patient create a personalised, prioritised plan of coping strategies and contacts to use when suicidal or self-harm crises escalate.
Full Definition
Safety planning, operationalised in the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention (SPI), involves six sequential steps: recognising warning signs, employing internal coping strategies, engaging social supports, contacting trusted individuals, reaching out to mental health professionals, and limiting access to lethal means. It is now considered best practice over the no harm contract and is documented as a formal note type in outpatient, emergency, and inpatient settings. Editors should confirm that safety plan documentation references all required steps and that the patient's signature or verbal agreement is noted. The term is two words ('safety planning') and should not be hyphenated attributively in most house styles.
Usage
Usage note: Distinguish from 'crisis intervention' (immediate response) and 'WRAP' (self-directed wellness recovery tool). Do not hyphenate as 'safety-planning' unless used as an attributive adjective.
In Context
- "The emergency department social worker completed safety planning with the patient prior to discharge, and a copy was provided to the outpatient prescriber." — Emergency department discharge note
- "Ensure 'safety planning' is rendered as two unhyphenated words in all current clinical documents." — Style sheet for psychiatric documentation