Safety
What Is a Safety Plan — and Why the VA Uses One
Medically reviewed · Updated 2026
A safety plan is one of the simplest, best-supported tools in mental health care: a short, personal, written plan — made in advance, during a steadier moment — that walks you through exactly what to do when suicidal thoughts or overwhelming distress show up. In a crisis, thinking narrows. The plan does the thinking for you.
The 7-step Stanley-Brown model
The version used across VA settings was developed by Drs. Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. Its steps move from what you can do alone toward reaching out:
- Know your warning signs — the thoughts, moods, and situations that signal a hard moment is building.
- Use your own coping strategies — things you can do by yourself that have helped before: paced breathing, movement, music, a shower.
- Reach for healthy distraction — people and places that shift your state, even without talking about what's wrong.
- Contact people who can help — the specific family members or friends you'd actually tell.
- Contact professionals — your therapist, doctor, or clinic, with numbers written down.
- Reach crisis support — for veterans: call 988, press 1, or text 838255, anytime.
- Make your environment safer — steps you plan with a clinician or trusted person to put time and distance between you and a hard moment.
Why it works
The plan externalizes what crisis makes hard: remembering that hard moments pass, that specific things have helped before, and that specific people will pick up. Research on safety planning shows it reduces suicidal behavior and increases engagement with care. It is not a promise or a contract — it's a tool, built by you, for you.
Build one that stays in your pocket
Service & Recover includes a full 7-step Stanley-Brown safety plan builder. It stays on your device — no account, nothing transmitted — and you share it only if and when you choose to. The Veterans Crisis Line is one tap away from every screen of the app, including the plan itself.
Free companion app
Service & Recover puts these pathways, a personal safety plan, and appointment prep in your pocket — free, no account, nothing collected. Get it on the App Store →
Educational companion, not therapy or medical advice. This does not replace professional care and is not a crisis service. In immediate danger, call 911. Veterans Crisis Line: call 988 then press 1, or text 838255.