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Safety plan template

Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, board-certified psychiatrist and the reviewer of this article.

Reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA·Updated March 15, 2026·About 6 minutes

A safety plan is a written, step-by-step list a person makes (ideally with a clinician) to follow when suicidal thoughts intensify. It is the most studied brief intervention for suicidal patients in outpatient and emergency settings.

This template follows the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention. Fill it in here, save it to this device, and print a copy to keep with you. None of the text is sent anywhere; the save button stores the plan only in this browser.

How a safety plan is used

The plan is read top to bottom during a moment of rising suicidal thoughts. The order matters. The early steps are things a person can do alone. The middle steps add other people. The later steps add clinicians and emergency services. The goal of every step is to keep the person safe long enough for the wave of crisis to pass.

The Stanley-Brown intervention has been studied in randomized and quasi-experimental trials, including a 2018 JAMA Psychiatry study by Stanley and colleagues that found the intervention plus a brief follow-up call cut suicidal behavior by about half over six months in emergency department patients, compared with usual care.

A safety plan is most useful when written with a clinician and reviewed in follow-up visits. It can also be written alone or with a trusted person and brought to the next clinical visit.

The plan is stored only in this browser using local storage. Clearing browser data, switching browsers, or using private browsing will erase it. Print a copy for safekeeping.

Step 1. Warning signs

Thoughts, images, moods, situations, or behaviors that signal a crisis may be developing. Examples: hopeless thoughts, withdrawing from people, sleep collapse, increased drinking, replaying a loss.

Step 2. Internal coping strategies

Things a person can do alone to take their mind off suicidal thoughts. Examples: a 20 minute walk, a shower, listening to a specific playlist, a slow breathing exercise, a short journaling prompt.

Step 3. Social contacts and settings for distraction

People and places that pull attention away from the crisis, without requiring a conversation about it. Examples: a coffee shop where you can sit, a friend who you can text about a TV show, a family member you can sit with quietly.

Step 4. People to ask for help

People you can tell directly that you are in a crisis and ask for help. This is different from Step 3 because here you are asking for support about the crisis itself.

Step 5. Professionals and crisis services

Clinician name and number, on-call line for the practice, after-hours number, and crisis services. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is listed by default; add your own clinicians and the local crisis line.

Step 6. Making the environment safer

Steps to put time and distance between the person and access to lethal means. This is the single highest-impact step in the plan. Means safety counseling is associated with a clinically meaningful reduction in suicide deaths in research summarized by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC).

Examples: store firearms outside the home with a trusted person, a gun shop, or a police station that accepts temporary holds (where lawful); use a gun lock with the key held by someone else; lock medications in a box with a combination only another person knows; reduce stockpiles of medication; remove ropes and unused medications from the home.

Reasons for living (optional but useful)

A short list of reasons for staying alive, in your own words. People, responsibilities, future plans, beliefs, things you want to see. Read this section first if a crisis hits.

Sharing the plan

A safety plan works best when at least one trusted person knows it exists and ideally has a copy. Share it with the clinician who is treating depression, with the closest family member or friend who can be a Step 4 contact, and with anyone who shares a home where lethal means are stored.

Reviewing the plan

The plan should be reviewed at least every few months and after any crisis. Phone numbers change, contacts move away, and personal warning signs evolve over time. A plan that is six months out of date is harder to follow under stress.

Related pages

Sources

  • Stanley B, Brown GK. Safety Planning Intervention: A Brief Intervention to Mitigate Suicide Risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 2012;19(2):256-264.
  • Stanley B, Brown GK, Brenner LA, et al. Comparison of the Safety Planning Intervention With Follow-up vs Usual Care of Suicidal Patients Treated in the Emergency Department. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018;75(9):894-900.
  • 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org.
  • Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM). sprc.org.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan?
The Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention is a brief, structured plan developed by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown that walks through six categories of coping and support to use during a suicidal crisis. It is the most widely used safety plan template in U.S. clinical settings.
Does completing a safety plan reduce suicide attempts?
Yes. In a randomized study of patients seen in the emergency department for suicidality, the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention with structured follow-up was associated with about half the rate of suicidal behavior over six months compared with usual care (Stanley, Brown, et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2018).
Can I make a safety plan on my own?
A safety plan is most effective when made with a clinician, because the conversation surfaces warning signs and supports that are easy to miss alone. The template on this page can be filled in on your own as a starting point, then reviewed with a therapist, prescriber, or 988 counselor.
What goes in the means safety section?
Means safety is about putting time and distance between the person and a lethal method. For firearms, this means off-site storage with a relative, a friend, a gun shop, or a police department. For medications, it means giving stockpiles to a trusted person and keeping only a limited supply at home. Most attempts are decided on within an hour, which is why means restriction is one of the strongest interventions in suicide prevention.
How often should I update my safety plan?
Review the plan at least every few months and after any crisis. Phone numbers change, contacts move away, and personal warning signs evolve. A plan that is six months out of date is harder to follow under stress. Bring the plan to clinical visits so it can be updated together.

Reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA. Last reviewed March 15, 2026.

Every clinical page on DepressionResource.org is written in plain language, dated, and reviewed by a board-certified psychiatrist against current clinical guidelines. See our editorial standards and medical review process.