A Safety Plan Isn’t a Contract: What the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan Actually Does
If you’ve ever sat in a therapy office and been asked to sign a safety contract, you may have found yourself wondering: What exactly am I agreeing to? And can signing a piece of paper really keep someone safe?
It is a fair question—and one that the mental health field spent decades re-examining. For a long time, the standard approach to managing suicide risk in clinical settings was the "no-suicide contract." A therapist would hand a client a document stating that the client promised not to hurt themselves or attempt suicide before their next appointment.
While these contracts were widely used, modern research and clinical experience have shown that they are largely ineffective. Asking someone in deep distress to make a binding agreement doesn’t give them tools to handle their pain. Instead, it often creates unintended pressure, guilt, or shame if suicidal thoughts persist, making clients less likely to be honest with their therapist when they are struggling.
Today, standard practice has shifted away from outdated contracts toward an evidence-based tool called the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan.
The difference between the two approaches comes down to a simple principle: A contract says what you won’t do. A safety plan says what you can do.
Where Did the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan Come From?
The Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) was developed by Dr. Barbara Stanley and Dr. Gregory Brown as a brief, actionable intervention designed to help individuals navigating suicidal thoughts or crises.
Rather than relying on vague promises or abstract goals, Dr. Stanley and Dr. Brown designed a collaborative, step-by-step framework. The objective is to sit down with a mental health professional—when you are relatively calm and clear-headed—and build an individualized, written plan tailored to your specific life, triggers, and support systems.
So, What’s Actually on the Plan?
The official Stanley-Brown model uses a structured six-step framework. Each step provides a clear layer of support, moving from self-directed strategies to external professional resources:
Recognizing Warning Signs: Identifying the specific thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, or behaviors that signal a crisis is starting (e.g., severe fatigue, isolation, overwhelming pacing, or specific intrusive thoughts).
Internal Coping Strategies: Listing activities you can do completely on your own to distract or soothe yourself without reaching out to anyone else (e.g., taking a cold shower, going for a walk, listening to a specific playlist, or journaling).
People and Social Settings for Distraction: Identifying social environments or people who can help take your mind off the distress, even if you don't talk to them directly about the crisis (e.g., going to a coffee shop, visiting a family member, or sitting in a park).
People You Can Ask for Help: Listing trusted friends, family members, or loved ones whom you feel safe telling directly: "I am struggling right now and need support."
Professional Resources: Gathering contact information for your therapist, psychiatrist, local crisis centers, and urgent mental health resources so they are immediately accessible.
Making the Environment Safer: Taking proactive steps to reduce access to potentially lethal means in your home or surrounding environment (e.g., locking up medications, temporarily giving firearms to a trusted friend, or removing specific hazards).
Why Not Just Tell Someone to Call for Help?
When a person is in the middle of a mental health crisis, the brain's capacity for complex problem-solving, memory recall, and focus drops significantly. Expecting someone in extreme emotional pain to remember a phone number, figure out who to call, or brainstorm coping techniques on the spot is asking for a monumental effort.
The Stanley-Brown model bypasses this obstacle by doing the thinking in advance.
The underlying principle is straightforward: When I’m doing okay, I make the plan. When I’m struggling, I follow the plan.
During a safety planning session, you and your therapist don't just fill out the sheet; you explicitly plan where you will keep it. Whether it is saved as a note on your phone, pinned to your refrigerator, or kept in your wallet, the goal is to make sure your personalized tools are right at your fingertips when thinking clearly becomes difficult.
Does a Safety Plan Actually Work?
Yes. Unlike no-suicide contracts, safety plans are backed by strong scientific evidence.
A landmark 2018 study published in JAMA Psychiatry evaluated the Safety Planning Intervention combined with brief follow-up contacts among patients treated in hospital emergency departments. The researchers found that individuals who received the safety plan intervention had 45% fewer suicidal behaviors in the six months following discharge compared to those who received standard care alone. Additionally, these individuals were significantly more likely to engage in ongoing outpatient mental health treatment.
Creating a safety plan doesn't mean you are expecting a crisis to happen. It simply means you are giving yourself a clear, proven roadmap before you ever need one.
Taking the Next Step in Your Care
If you or a loved one are navigating distress, anxiety, or difficult life transitions, you don't have to carry it alone. Having a compassionate, trained professional in your corner can help you build practical tools, process painful emotions, and create personalized strategies that fit your life.
At Champaign Counseling, we provide a supportive, non-judgmental space where you can work through challenges at your own pace. Whether you are looking to establish a safety plan, work through past trauma, or simply build healthier coping mechanisms for day-to-day life, our team is here to support you.
Reach out to Champaign Counseling today at 217-203-2008 to learn more or to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is available 24/7. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or dial 911 for emergency services.
Sources & References
Stanley, B., et al. (2018). Comparison of the Safety Planning Intervention With Follow-up vs Usual Care of Suicidal Patients Treated in Emergency Departments. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(9), 894–900.
VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide.
VA MIRECC Safety Planning Resources & The Official Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention model.
