Moira Cayabyab
Fact checked by Shine Colcol
A safety plan template walks an individual through the steps to take during a mental health crisis. Created with the client’s emotional and mental health needs in mind, this is designed to be informative on safe practices and easily accessible when needed.
This template is used to:
A safety plan template is a structured document that outlines specific steps a patient can take to help navigate emotional distress or overwhelming thoughts. In the event of a crisis, it’s used collaboratively by both clinician and patient to create a personalized safety plan and reduce safety risks.
Generally, a safety plan template includes the patient’s known triggers, coping strategies, contact information for crisis resources and other guardrails to keep a patient from harm.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of using safety plan templates and how mental health professionals can incorporate these templates into their workflow without disrupting their time with patients.
Safety planning looks different for each client on a caseload, as they all require tailored strategies to effectively manage the effects of their diagnosis and potential safety risks. Mental health professionals see multiple patients daily and using a template does the structural work so they don’t have to start from scratch each session.
The process of creating a safety plan requires careful attention to the patient and an in-depth discussion of their thoughts and feelings. That’s why it is crucial for psychiatrists and therapists to document information accurately.
A template prevents the risk of missing any steps in a safety plan. It organizes all data into a comprehensive document that can be easily shared with patients and other relevant healthcare providers for care continuity.
A safety plan is a personalized document, but incorporates key elements to structure the care plan recommended by mental health professionals.
This means including components such as:
The information used to build a safety plan is anchored in the patient’s history, preferences and the rapport they have with the mental health clinician creating the plan. However, documentation during a session takes attention away from the patient and could potentially affect how willing they are to open up about their emotions. This can impact the safety plan itself, as lack of patient participation makes it difficult to personalize the outlined information.
Dr. Shelagh Fraser of Priority Physicians in Indianapolis emphasizes the importance of staying fully engaged with patients. With Heidi, she’s been able to save 6,440 minutes (100 hours) on documentation. This allowed her to focus on communicating with patients and giving them her undivided attention during appointments.
The content of a safety plan template varies from person to person, depending on their different mental health needs. However, creating the plan can follow a set of steps that can guide you during each patient session. Here’s a short guide:
Construct the outline for the safety plan by asking the patient what they’ve noticed during past crises and what coping mechanisms have been effective before. For example, the patient no longer finds breathing exercises helpful; this opens a conversation about whether journaling can be more effective. Keep the tone collaborative and work through the different components of the template to cover all bases properly.
Log patient responses and observations easily using Heidi’s AI medical scribe. Its speech transcription removes the burden of jotting down or typing out notes during appointments. Clinicians can freely interact with patients without worrying about documentation for the safety plan.
The patient can say, “I noticed that taking long walks after work has improved my environment.” The scribe automatically includes it in the running record without hassle.
After filling out the fields present in the template, review whether it contains accurate information and relevant solutions for the patient. In Heidi, you can use your voice through Dictate to edit coping mechanisms, harm reduction strategies and contact information accordingly. Add sections to the template as needed to accommodate any additional safety concerns the patient has.
Once the safety plan is completely filled, create a copy for the patient to easily access the document. It’s important to provide a simplified version of the document from the template output. Such resources can be sent directly to the patient for confidentiality.
In Heidi, you can use the text box after your session and prompt it to generate a downloadable PDF for the patient summary. Any detail you may need to omit or add, you can simply ask Heidi to include in the copy.
On the next appointment, assess whether the safety plan was effective and take note of points for improvement. Walk through the different components to determine what worked and what didn’t.
You can download a copy of this document, or auto-fill it seamlessly with Heidi, your AI care partner.
Starting a safety plan from scratch can be mentally taxing for both patients and mental health professionals. Using a template that integrates existing notes and documentation allows you to create detailed and holistic safety plans.
Heidi made it easy for you: save one template and reuse for other cases, or create them from scratch to keep mental health care plans unique.
Safety planning is a collaborative process and requires comprehensive documentation to ensure patient needs are always addressed. With Heidi, mental health clinicians keep accurate and organized information without sacrificing clinician-patient relationships.
Balancing documentation with presence during safety planning is made easier with Heidi:
Powering over 2.8 million patient sessions weekly, Heidi is your AI care partner for the day-to-day workflow, ensuring compliance with patient safety regulations (HIPAA, GDPR, PIPEDA, APP) across the globe.
A risk assessment and safety planning note template takes into account previous and current risk behaviors to create an effective safety plan for patients. It’s a comprehensive document that ensures complete record-keeping to support escalation of care when needed.
You can find free safety plan templates provided by agencies and organizations that offer mental health support. However, you can also modify an existing one from Heidi’s Template Community to give you more flexibility in adapting to your patient’s needs. For more information, check our guide on creating templates.
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