Safety Net Plan

A plan you make while well, that your people can act on when you're not.

Seven short sections. Do them in any order, stop whenever you like, and come back. It saves on this device. When it's done, print it, copy it, and give it to the people you name in it.

About 20 minutes
Nothing leaves your device
Best done with someone

Your plan

Write it in your own words.

Suggestions are there to get you started, not to replace what you know about yourself. If you've made a card, some of this is already filled in.

My early warning signs

1 of 7

What your people notice first. Clinicians call this a relapse signature. Sleep almost always belongs here.

What tends to set me off

2 of 7

The things that fill your bucket. Knowing them is how you and your people see trouble before it starts.

What helps me

3 of 7

For you to do when you notice early signs, and for your people to do when they do.

What matters to me

4 of 7

Your reasons. People, places, plans, animals, anything. Safety plans with this section in them work better. Write it for the version of you who has forgotten.

Who to call, in order

5 of 7

First the person, then your team, then the lines. In an emergency it's always 000. Use the arrows to reorder.

My treatment preferences

6 of 7

For clinicians who have never met you. What has worked, what hasn't, what you'd want avoided, and who should be consulted. This sits alongside a formal advance statement; here's how to make one.

What has helped before, and what I'd prefer

What hasn't worked, or what I'd want avoided

My nominated support person

What to tell police or the emergency department

Who holds this plan

7 of 7

The people you're giving a copy to, and what you want each to do when they see your early signs. Being written here is their permission to act.

Your name, for the top of the plan

Saved on this device only

Safety Net Plan

My Safety Net Plan

My early warning signs

Not written yet.

What tends to set me off

Not written yet.

What helps me

Not written yet.

What matters to me

Not written yet.

Who to call, in order

No one added yet.

Treatment preferences

Not written yet.

Please avoid

Not written yet.

Nominated support person

Not named yet.

For police and the emergency department

Not written yet.

Who holds this plan

Not written yet.

Made with psychosis.au · In an emergency, call 000

This is how it prints. Give a copy to everyone named in it, and ask your team to put one in your file.

Who sees what

You decide who sees what, and you can change it any time.

You see everything. The plan lives on your device and in the copies you hand out.
Your circle gets the whole plan, or just your early signs and what to do. Print it, or copy the text and send only the sections you choose.
Emergency staff see the card: the one page they need, and nothing else.

Questions

Things people ask about the plan.

Should I do this with my clinician?

Ideally, yes, and with the person you'd call first. Three people remember more than one, and a plan your team has seen is a plan they'll use. Start alone if you need to; bring it to your next appointment.

Is this an advance statement?

No. The treatment preferences section is written to sit alongside one, in the same language, so your clinician can help you turn it into a formal document that's recognised where you live. In Victoria, advance statements and nominated support persons are set out in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act. More on your rights.

How often should I update it?

After every episode, while it's fresh: what the first sign actually was, what helped, what didn't. And once a year regardless, because numbers and people change. The date prints at the bottom so everyone knows which version they're holding.

What if I'm making this for bipolar, or something other than psychosis?

It works the same way. Early signs, triggers, what helps, who to call, treatment preferences: the structure is the same for mania, severe depression or any condition with episodes. Write your own signs, whatever they are.