What is the Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention?

The Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is a brief, evidence-based suicide prevention protocol developed by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. It's a collaboratively built six-step plan: warning signs, internal coping strategies, social contacts for distraction, people to ask for help, professionals and crisis lines (988, 741741), and means restriction.

Is this safety plan app free?

Yes. The Stanley–Brown safety plan tool is free with no account required. Clinicians can start a 7-day free trial (card required) to save the plan per client and send it to the client's phone for one-tap access during a crisis.

Why use a digital safety plan instead of paper?

Paper safety plans live in a binder the client doesn't access during a crisis. A digital plan lives on the phone already in their hand, with one-tap dialing for 988 and 741741 and one-tap access to the agreed-on coping step. The clinical content is identical; access is what changes outcomes.

How does means restriction work in the tool?

Step 6 prompts you and the client to identify lethal means in their environment and agree on concrete steps — locking medications, off-site firearm storage, removing stockpiled items — with who's responsible and a follow-up date. Means restriction is the highest-impact intervention in suicide prevention.

Does it include the right crisis lines?

Yes. The tool pre-populates 988 (US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 741741 (Crisis Text Line), and the Veterans Crisis Line. Clinicians can add regional crisis lines, local mobile crisis teams, or warmlines.

Stanley–Brown Safety Plan — Free Fillable Online Template

Stanley–Brown 6-step protocol

What is a Stanley-Brown safety plan?

A Stanley-Brown safety plan is a six-step written plan a clinician and client complete together to interrupt a suicidal crisis: personal warning signs, internal coping strategies, people and places that provide distraction, people to ask for help, professionals and crisis lines (988 and 741741), and making the environment safer. It is collaborative and specific — the client's own words, their own people, their own places — and it is completed in session, not handed over as homework. Research on the Safety Planning Intervention found roughly half the suicidal behaviour in the following six months compared with usual care.

Source — Stanley & Brown (2012), Cognitive and Behavioral Practice; Stanley et al. (2018), JAMA Psychiatry

Stanley Brown Safety Plan — the free digital Stanley-Brown safety planning tool for therapists

The Stanley Brown Safety Plan (also written Stanley-Brown or Stanley–Brown) is the evidence-based six-step Safety Planning Intervention developed by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. This free Stanley Brown safety plan app walks a clinician and client through all six steps, pre-fills the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 741741 Crisis Text Line, and Veterans Crisis Line, and lives on the client's phone for one-tap access during a suicidal crisis. Built for therapists doing suicide risk assessment, post-hospitalization follow-up, and ongoing safety planning with high-risk clients.

The six steps of the Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention

Warning signs. Thoughts, images, moods, situations, or behaviors that signal a crisis is starting.
Internal coping strategies. Things the client can do alone — without contacting anyone — to take their mind off problems.
Social contacts and settings for distraction. People and places (not specifically for help — for change of scene and connection).
People to ask for help. Family or friends who can help during a crisis, listed by priority.
Professionals and agencies. Clinician, local emergency services, 988, 741741, Veterans Crisis Line.
Means restriction. Specific steps to make the environment safer — locking, removing, or limiting access to lethal means.

Why a digital safety plan beats paper

Every suicide prevention protocol agrees on the content of a safety plan. What's changed is the medium. A paper safety plan lives in a binder, a glove box, or a kitchen drawer — places a client does not access at 2 a.m. A digital safety plan lives on the phone that's already in their hand. The clinical content is identical; the difference is whether the plan gets used. The tool also gives the client one-tap dialing for 988 and 741741, and a one-tap path to the specific internal coping strategy you co-wrote — so the client doesn't have to read three pages when their working memory is collapsed.

Who uses this safety plan tool

Outpatient therapists doing routine risk assessment and ongoing safety planning with depression, PTSD, BPD, and high-risk clients
Crisis stabilization and post-discharge clinicians building a plan with a client leaving inpatient or the ER
DBT programs as the safety component alongside skills training and diary cards
Veterans and military mental health using the Stanley–Brown SPI as recommended by the VA/DoD clinical practice guideline
College counseling and EAP where time-limited sessions need a durable take-home plan

Pair the safety plan with the rest of the stabilization stack

Grounding tool — wire the specific grounding technique that works for this client into step 2 of their safety plan.
DBT skills toolbox (TIPP, DEAR MAN, PLEASE) — distress tolerance skills as concrete coping options for step 2.
Breathwork pacer — paced breathing as a self-regulation skill the client can run before escalating up the plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention?: The Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is a brief, evidence-based suicide prevention protocol developed by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. It's a collaboratively built, six-step written plan a clinician completes with a person at risk: (1) warning signs, (2) internal coping strategies, (3) social contacts and settings for distraction, (4) people to ask for help, (5) professionals and agencies including 988 and 741741, and (6) means restriction. Meta-analyses show it reduces suicidal behavior and increases treatment engagement compared to usual care.
Is this safety plan app free?: Yes. The Stanley–Brown safety plan tool is free for therapists and clients with no account required. Clinicians can start a 7-day free trial (card required) to save the plan per client, send a copy to the client's phone for one-tap access during a crisis, and update it across sessions.
Where does the safety plan live — on my device or in the cloud?: The plan stores on the client's device so they have offline access during a crisis, and (when a clinician sends it via the portal) a copy is encrypted on our servers tied only to a per-client portal handle. There is no PII attached. Means-restriction steps and crisis line numbers are pre-populated, so the client never has to look them up at 2 a.m.
Why use a digital safety plan instead of paper?: Paper safety plans live in a binder the client doesn't have when activation is highest. A digital safety plan lives on their phone — the device that's already in their hand during a crisis. One tap dials 988, one tap opens the agreed-on grounding technique, one tap reveals the agreed-on means-restriction steps. The clinical content is identical; the access is what changes outcomes.
How does means restriction work in the tool?: Step 6 prompts you and the client to identify lethal means in their environment and to agree on concrete steps to reduce access — locking medications, off-site storage of firearms, removing or disposing of stockpiled items. The tool gives you a structured place to record the plan, who is responsible for each step, and a follow-up date. Means restriction is the single highest-impact intervention in suicide prevention.
Can the safety plan be updated between sessions?: Yes. The plan is versioned per client — you can revise warning signs, coping strategies, or support people anytime, and the client's phone reflects the latest version. Safety plans should be reviewed and updated whenever risk level shifts, supports change, or after any near-miss.
Does it include the right crisis lines?: Yes. The tool pre-populates 988 (the US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 741741 (Crisis Text Line), and the Veterans Crisis Line. Clinicians can add or override with regional crisis lines, local mobile crisis teams, or warmlines that are most relevant for the client.

Clinical note: a safety plan is one component of suicide risk management — not a substitute for a full risk assessment, clinical judgment, or a higher level of care when indicated. Crisis resources: in the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. Internationally, find your local line at findahelpline.com.

Last reviewed: October 2026

Stanley Brown Safety Plan