Mental Health Crisis Plan

What is a Mental Health Crisis Plan?

A Mental Health Crisis Plan is a document created to prevent and prepare for a worst-case mental health situation for your client. A crisis will look different between clients but usually indicates a situation where your client's symptoms escalate to the point they may harm themselves or others.

Naturally, as a mental health practitioner, you and your crisis management team will want to help your client prevent things from escalating this far and prepare for this future possibility before it occurs by having ready emergency procedures. You can do just that with our mental health crisis management plan template.

This Mental Health Crisis Plan consists of six sections, each designed to help prevent or mitigate the effects of a mental health crisis in your client. The sections range from independent coping strategies to professional and emergency contacts.

How To Use This Mental Health Crisis Plan

We have kept this Mental Health Crisis Plan clearly formatted so the information it contains can be quickly and easily accessed, even when your client is in the throws of a mental health crisis. To start using this Mental Health Crisis Plan, just follow this simple step-by-step guide, or take a look at our Mental Health Crisis Plan Example below.

Step One. Download the Template

The first step is to download a copy of our Mental Health Crisis Plan template. You can get a copy of the free PDF from the download link on this page, or you can also access this template from within Carepatron’s template library.

Step Two. Provide to your client

Next, provide a copy of the template to your client. If they prefer digital copies, which they can store on their phone or laptop so it is easily accessible, they can fill in the PDF using the interactive text boxes provided. If they prefer to write by hand, print out the PDF before giving it to them.

Step Three. Work Through Each Section with your Client

There are six main sections of this Mental Health Crisis Plan template. Your client may have all the tools they need to confidently fill in each, but if not, we recommend you work through these sections with your client- providing suggestions and guidance for each.

Step Four. Store a Copy Securely

Lastly, it is a good idea to store a copy of the completed Mental Health Crisis plan in your patient’s records if you ever need to access the information in the future. Your client may also choose to share copies with trusted members of their support system, or other members of their care team.

Who Can Use this Mental Health Crisis Plan Template PDF?

All kinds of mental health practitioners can utilize this Mental Health Crisis Plan template in their practice. It’s never a bad idea to prepare for a crisis, and it’s always better to prepare for a crisis well in advance. This means that your client doesn’t need to spend mental energy when they are under the extreme pressure of a mental health crisis. Practitioners who may wish to help their clients create Mental Health Crisis Plans include:

• Clinical Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Mental Health Counselors
• Psychiatrists
• Mental Health Nurses
• Social workers

Or any other professional who routinely treats clients with mental health conditions associated with an increased risk of harming themselves or others if their symptoms were to ever escalate to a crisis level.

Why is This Form Useful For Therapists

Broad Applicability

This form can be used by clients with all kinds of mental health conditions, including PTSD, severe depression or anxiety, and schizoaffective or bipolar disorders. It is not limited to a single health condition, and your client does not need to have an official diagnosis in order to benefit from using this plan.

Peace of Mind

You and your client will both be able to move forward with confidence that a plan is in place should they find themselves in a crisis situation. Sometimes, just knowing what to do when things take a turn for the worst is enough to help improve peace of mind and prevent symptoms from escalating to the crisis level.

Interventions for different crisis levels

Depending on your client’s symptoms and mental state, different levels of intervention may be appropriate. If they have managed to catch the developing crisis early, they may be able to soothe themselves using breathing techniques or other coping mechanisms they have developed with you. For more serious situations, they can escalate to reaching out for help from their support system or healthcare professionals. This Mental Health Crisis plan includes a range of levels of intervention, allowing for different crisis levels.

Benefits of Crisis Plan for Mental Health

Improve Organization

Having all the important information for your client in one place is crucial for keeping their mental health crisis plan organized, and that’s exactly what our crisis plan template offers! Clear formatting and simple-to-read tables will ensure your client doesn’t need to dig through piles of different records to find the contact numbers or techniques they need.

Empower your Clients

Helping to create their own Mental Health Crisis plan will help your clients feel more in control, and that they are contributing to their treatment. Empowering your clients to participate in their own treatment, such as through creating plans for crises, is a great way to ensure their treatment with you is an effective partnership.

Can be Kept Digital

One great benefit of this Crisis Plan Template is that it can be kept completely digital. This means your client can access it from their phone, laptop, or another device, whenever they need.

Remove Stigma

Making a plan for a Mental Health Crisis will help your client shed any stigma or shame surrounding suffering from a mental health condition. They can feel more confident that they know what to do if it ever happens, and even if they never need to use this plan, they will play a part in normalizing mental health crises.

Interventions for each level of crisis

Finally, a huge benefit of this template is that it offers escalating levels of intervention depending on your client’s symptoms and mental state. Sometimes, your client may feel able to self-soothe, whereas other times, they may need to reach out to others for help. This Mental Health Crisis plan can work for your client's various crises.