ABSTRACT
Safety planning is a structured and proactive way to help people plan effective strategies, activities and sources of support they can use to help them prevent or manage a developing crisis and keep them safe from self-harm. A common deficiency or error in mental health practice when staff are under pressure to complete tasks or have high caseloads or throughput of patients is to prescribe a safety plan which the patient may or may not be able or willing to participate in. The process of safety planning usually requires "shaping" self-care as well as shaping help-seeking behaviour before or after self-harm. It is important for the person to have a workable means of storing and accessing their safety plan. In addition to a detailed safety plan, the people may want to develop a shorter coping card which can reduce suicide risk.
