Clinical Safety
Emergency Safety Plan Template for Therapists
Co-create a printable Stanley-Brown Safety Plan with your client. Capture warning signs, coping strategies, support contacts, professionals, means restriction, and reasons for living in one document.
Client & Therapist
Identify the client, the clinician completing the plan, and the plan date.
Safety Plan Sections
Walk through each Stanley-Brown Safety Plan section. The completion bar updates as you fill in content.
Ready to share the plan?
Download your safety plan PDF for the client’s records.
Safety Plan Preview
Stanley-Brown Safety Plan Template
Stanley-Brown Safety Plan
Client name
Therapist: —
Plan date: —
1. Warning signs (thoughts, images, mood, situations, behaviors)
—
2. Internal coping strategies
—
3. Social distractions and places that can take my mind off things
—
4. People I can ask for help
—
5. Professionals and agencies I can contact during a crisis
—
6. Making the environment safe (means restriction)
—
7. Reasons for living and things that are most important to me
—
Path: /tools/emergency-safety-plan-template
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Open toolHow the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan is organized
The Stanley-Brown Safety Plan is a written, client-driven tool that walks through six safety steps and a final reasons-for-living section. It is best completed collaboratively in session, kept short, and updated after every crisis event.
This template provides the standard structure with a live preview and printable output, so you and your client can iterate on the wording together and leave the session with a usable document.
Use it for situations like
- A client who has disclosed recent suicidal ideation or a recent attempt.
- A client leaving the hospital after psychiatric stabilization.
- A long-term client whose risk factors have shifted.
- Onboarding a new client with chronic risk into a structured safety approach.
FAQ
Questions therapists ask before using this calculator
What is a Stanley-Brown Safety Plan?
The Stanley-Brown Safety Plan is a structured, client-centered crisis plan developed by Drs. Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. It walks through warning signs, internal coping strategies, social distractions, people to contact, professionals, means restriction, and reasons for living.
When should a therapist complete a safety plan with a client?
Complete a safety plan any time a client presents with suicidal ideation, a recent crisis, or significant risk factors. Update it after every crisis event, after hospitalization, and at routine intervals (e.g., quarterly) for long-term clients at chronic risk.
What is the means-restriction step?
Means restriction is a clinical and environmental safety step: identify and limit access to lethal means (firearms, medications, vehicles in unsafe settings). Research consistently shows that restricting access to lethal means reduces suicide risk during a crisis.
Should the client take the safety plan home?
Yes. The plan is most useful when the client can reference it during a crisis. Provide a printed copy, store a copy in the chart, and consider a HIPAA-secure digital copy the client can access on their phone.
Does this template count as clinical guidance?
No. The template provides the standard Stanley-Brown structure to help clinicians collaborate with clients on a written plan. Final clinical decisions, content, and follow-up remain the responsibility of the treating clinician.