Crisis Response Quick Guide

Priority order

1) Risk to life → 2) Urgent health need → 3) Unsafe environment → 4) Everything else. Address risk to life first even when other needs are loud.

Ask plainly

• "Are you thinking about ending your life?"
• "Do you have a plan?"
• "Do you have access to what you would use?"
• "Have you tried before?"
• "What has helped you stay safe previously?"

Then act

• Stay engaged; do not leave the participant alone with active risk
• Follow your agency emergency procedure and local emergency requirements
• Contact your supervisor or on-call per policy
• Involve crisis services (in the U.S., 988) or emergency services as your policy directs
• Connect the participant to the supports they named

Document immediately

• Facts and direct quotes — no interpretation of motive
• Questions you asked and answers given
• Who you notified and at what time
• Actions taken and the safety plan agreed
• Follow-up scheduled

Language to avoid

Avoid euphemism ("feeling funny", "having thoughts"), moral framing ("threatened to", "attention seeking"), and conclusions you cannot observe. Write what was said and what you did.