A safety plan is a short plan a person at risk of suicide writes with their clinician, in their own words, to keep and use when a crisis starts. Copy the free template, see a therapy practice and an emergency department example, and check what goes in each part.
Blank safety plan template
FreeSAFETY PLAN Name: [Name] Made on: [Date] Made with: [Clinician name, credentials, service] Next review: [Date or appointment] How I use it: When I notice my warning signs, I start at the top and work down. If one step doesn't help, I go to the next. If I might act on my thoughts, I call 988 or 911 right away. MY REASONS FOR LIVING [People, pets, plans, beliefs, or hopes, in my own words] MY EARLY WARNING SIGNS What I think: [Thoughts or phrases that show up] What I feel: [Changes in my mood and body] What sets it off: [Places, times, dates, or events] What I do: [Changes others might notice, such as pulling away or not sleeping] WHAT HELPS WHEN I'M ON MY OWN [Two to four things I can do by myself to get through the next hour] [What I'll stop or avoid, such as alcohol or searching online] PLACES AND PEOPLE TO BE AROUND Places: [Where I can go to be around other people] People: [Who I can spend time with without having to explain, and how to reach them] PEOPLE I CAN TELL [Name, phone number, and when they can be reached] [Name, phone number, and when they can be reached] What I'll say: [The words I'll use to ask for help] CARE TEAM AND CRISIS LINES My clinician: [Name, phone number, hours] After hours: [The on-call or local crisis number] Crisis line: 988, call or text, any time Emergency: 911, or go to [Nearest emergency department and its address] Next appointment: [Date, time, and how to change it] WHAT I'M PUTTING OUT OF REACH Firearms: [Stored outside the home and with whom, locked with the key held by someone else, or none in the home] Medications: [What is removed, locked away, or kept in small amounts, and who holds them] Other means: [Anything else I've thought about using, and the step agreed] Who is helping: [Who has agreed to help, and by when] FOR THE CLINICAL RECORD How it was made: [Written together, in the person's words, after the risk assessment on date] Likelihood of use: [How likely the person says they are to use it, and the barriers discussed] Copies: [Who has a copy, with consent, and where the person keeps theirs] Means confirmed: [What was confirmed, by whom, how, and when] Follow-up: [Next contact or appointment, with date] Review: [Each session while risk continues, after any crisis, and at each move between services] Signed: [Clinician name, credentials, date and time]
Use it for
Each one follows the template. Use them to judge how much detail every part needs.
Outpatient therapy practice, fourth session, in person
My kids, Ella and Josh. I want to be there when Josh gets his driver’s license next spring. My dog, Bruno, who waits at the door for me. My mom, who already lost my dad. Getting back to the guitar.
What I think: “They’d be fine without me.” “What’s the point?” What I feel: heavy and numb; awake at 3 a.m. What sets it off: Sunday nights after I drop the kids off, and money arguments with my ex. What I do: stop answering texts, skip the gym, have more than 3 beers, and fall asleep on the couch with the TV on.
Take Bruno for a long walk, even late. A hot shower, then 10 minutes of the breathing exercise from therapy. Play guitar, the songs I learned at 20. Read the texts from my kids I saved in a folder called “Keep.” Once these thoughts start, no more beer.
Places: the dog park on Elm Street, my brother’s garage on Saturday mornings, the diner on 4th that’s open all night. People: my neighbor Ray, for coffee or the game; Luis from work, fixing up old bikes. I don’t have to explain anything to them.
My sister Karen, 555-0148, any time. My friend Mike, 555-0173, evenings and weekends. What I’ll say: “I’m having a bad night. Can you talk for a bit?”
My therapist, Dr. Priya Shah, 555-0110, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. After hours: the local mobile crisis team, 555-0190. Crisis line: 988, call or text, any time. Emergency: 911, or Riverside General emergency department, 200 Main Street. Next appointment: Thursday at 5 p.m.
Firearms: none at home, and I won’t buy one. Medications: the leftover oxycodone from my knee surgery goes back to the pharmacy on Saturday; Karen is coming with me. I’ll keep one small pack of ibuprofen at home. Alcohol: no more than 2 beers in the fridge.
47-year-old man, separated 5 months ago, lives alone. Written together in session 4, after he described 2 weeks of passive thoughts of not waking up, with no plan, intent, or preparation; see the risk assessment of the same date. His words used throughout; he chose the order of his coping steps. Rated himself 7 out of 10 likely to use it; the main barrier is not wanting to burden his sister, and he agreed to tell her today that she is on the plan. Copies: a paper copy for his wallet and a photo on his phone; with his consent, his sister gets the contacts page. Means: oxycodone return to be confirmed next session. Review at each session while the thoughts continue, and after any crisis.
Emergency department, before discharge, mother present for part
My little brother Theo, who’s 9 and thinks I’m the coolest. My cat, Miso. Finishing my nursing program; I want to work with kids. Mom. I didn’t want to die. I wanted the feeling to stop.
What I think: “I’m too much for everyone.” Replaying the breakup over and over. What I feel: panicky, then completely flat; I stop eating. What sets it off: seeing his posts, being alone in my room at night, and fights at home. What I do: stay in bed all day, stop replying to my friends, scroll his accounts for hours, and search online about pills.
Mute his accounts, or give my phone to Mom for the night. Cold water on my face, or hold ice, like the nurse showed me. An episode of my comfort show. Draw. Write the thought down, then write what Ana would say back.
Places: Aunt Lisa’s kitchen, the climbing gym, the library café. People: my cousin Jess, who always wants to get food; Ana, on a video call so we can watch a show together.
Mom, 555-0161, any time; she’s down the hall. Aunt Lisa, 555-0187, any time. Ana, 555-0134, after 4 p.m. What I’ll say: “It’s happening again. Can you stay with me?”
Follow-up call from the emergency department nurse: tomorrow, Nov 11. First appointment with the community mental health team: Nov 13 at 2 p.m.; call 555-0199 to change it. My family doctor: Dr. Nguyen, 555-0120. Crisis line: 988, call or text, any time. Emergency: 911, or come back to this emergency department.
Medications: Mom keeps my medications and gives me one dose each morning. Every other medicine in the house, including painkillers, goes in a lockbox tonight, and Mom keeps the only key. Firearms: my stepdad’s hunting rifle goes to Uncle Dave’s house tonight and stays there until my care team and I agree it can come back. My phone charges in the kitchen at night for now.
20-year-old woman, medically cleared after an intentional overdose of her prescribed medication last night; the crisis clinician’s suicide risk assessment today supported discharge home with her family. Plan written with her on Nov 10 before discharge; with her consent, her mother joined for the contacts and means sections. Her words used throughout. Rated herself 8 out of 10 likely to use it; she named her phone at night as a risk, so phone steps were added. Copies: a paper copy and a photo on her phone; a copy to her mother; sent with the discharge summary to her family doctor and the community mental health team. Means: her stepfather confirmed by phone that the rifle goes to his brother’s house tonight; her mother will confirm the lockbox on tomorrow’s call. The discharge summary asks her family doctor to prescribe 1 week at a time for now. Review at the first appointment, and after any crisis.
What matters enough to hold on to, written at the top so it’s the first thing the person reads when they open the plan.
Avoid: Supplying reasons the person doesn’t feel. “Your family needs you” can add guilt. Ask what matters to them, and write that.
The thoughts, feelings, triggers, and behaviors that show a crisis may be starting, so the person knows when to take out the plan.
Avoid: Signs so general they fit every bad day, like “feeling sad.” Ask what happened in the hours before the last crisis.
Things the person can do alone to get through the next hour, before they reach out to anyone.
Avoid: Steps you chose, like “practice self-care.” Ask whether each one would help in the moment, and whether they’d really do it.
Where the person can go, and who they can be with, to break the isolation without having to talk about how they feel.
Avoid: Places that are closed when the person’s crises usually happen. Check the hours against their warning signs.
Family members or friends the person will tell that they are struggling, and ask to help.
Avoid: Contacts the person wouldn’t actually call. Ask what would stop them, and talk it through.
The clinicians and services to contact when the earlier steps haven’t helped, or right away if the person might act on their thoughts.
Avoid: Only an office number that rings out at night. Every plan needs contacts that answer at any hour.
The steps that put time and distance between the person and the means they might use, agreed with them and, with consent, with family.
Avoid: Asking only “Do you own a gun?” Ask about every firearm the person could reach, including ones kept by a partner or relative.
How the plan was made, who has it, and when it will be reviewed. Keep it in your note; the person’s copy can leave it off.
Avoid: “Safety plan completed” and nothing else. The next clinician needs to know what’s in it and whether the means steps happened.
A plan in your words, filled in while they watch, is rarely used. Ask, listen, and write what they say, in their language.
A promise not to act doesn’t make anyone safer, and it can give false reassurance. A safety plan says what to do and who to contact.
“Limit access to means” tells no one what to do. Name the firearm or medication, where it will go, who will move it, and when you’ll confirm it.
A friend who works nights, or a clinic that closes at 5 p.m., won’t help at 2 a.m. Check each contact’s hours, and put 988 and 911 on every plan.
The person needs it with them: on paper, as a photo on their phone, or both. Review it at each session while risk continues, and after any crisis.
Risk is high in the days after leaving an emergency department or hospital. Book the next contact before the person leaves, and write it on the plan.
Vero Scribe drafts the safety plan in your template from the session, with the person’s consent, or from your dictation, keeping their words. You review and edit every section with them, then copy it into your record or export it to Word or PDF for their copy. Vero works in 60+ languages.
The person’s reasons for living, their warning signs, things they can do alone, places and people to be around, people they can tell, care team and crisis contacts including 988 and 911, and steps to put means such as firearms and medications out of reach. Write each part in their words.
After you’ve assessed risk, explain that the plan is theirs, for when things get hard. Start with the last crisis: what came before it, and what helped. Go part by part, write their words, and check that each step is something they’d really do. Agree on the means steps, ask how likely they are to use the plan, and make sure they leave with a copy.
The risk assessment is yours: what you found, your judgment of risk, and why. The safety plan is the person’s: what they will do when a crisis starts, in their words. Most clinicians complete the assessment first, then write the plan together in the same session.
No. A no-suicide contract asks for a promise not to act, and there is no good evidence that it prevents suicide. A safety plan gives the person steps to take and people to contact, and it’s a recommended part of care for people at risk.
As part of care, yes. In a large emergency department study, people who made a safety plan and had follow-up phone calls had about 45% fewer suicidal behaviors over the next 6 months than people who had usual care. Reviews of other studies point the same way.
At each session while risk continues, after any crisis or emergency visit, when the person’s contacts or circumstances change, and at each move between services, such as discharge from hospital. Update it with the person, and give them the new copy.
Yes. Copy it, or download it as a Word or text file. No account needed.
The four-part note for most visits, with acute, musculoskeletal, and telehealth examples.
Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation: for calls, handoffs, and transfers.
To a specialist or service, with a clear question, the urgency, and the history.
Intakes, progress notes, and plans, drafted for your review.
Record each session’s review of the safety plan.
Session notes and plans, written from the conversation.
The plan for substance use: triggers, coping, and what to do after a return to use.
Vero writes your notes and letters in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
No credit card required. 10 free actions every month.