If you’re like most of us, you or someone close to you experiences mental health challenges. The added stresses of the pandemic, as well as seasonal and holiday effects, may exacerbate those challenges. One way of supporting our loved ones who experience these challenges is to develop a safety plan ahead of time, during periods when they are stable and able to contribute to the plan. If this sounds like something that might be of use to you or the families you work with, consider downloading and reviewing “Before a Mental Health Crisis Hits: Creating a Family Safety Plan.”

This resource, developed by the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research, functions as a “playbook” that can help us minimize or re-direct a mental health crisis after its onset. Think of a safety plan as a prevention tool similar to a car’s seatbelt: it cannot prevent a mental health crisis, but it can prevent the crisis from becoming catastrophic.