Safety Plan

The Sanctuary Model covers four domains of safety:

- Physical Safety: being physically safe from harm.

- Psychological Safety: ability to keep oneself safe in the world - includes self-discipline, self-esteem, self-control, self-awareness, and self-respect.

- Social Safety: ability to be safe with other people in relationships and in social settings.

- Moral / Ethical Safety: ability to maintain a set of standards, beliefs, and operating principles that are consistent, that guide behavior, and that are grounded in a respect for life.

Safety Plans are the tool that most closely relates to Trauma Theory and Psychobiology. It is a list of activities that a person can choose from when feeling overwhelmed so that she/he can avoid engaging in unsafe behavior.

Upon in-take of new residents and hire of new staff at Gannondale, each member is asked to fill out their own Safety Plan. For staff members, the Safety Plan is attached to the back of their photo ID, which is worn on them at all times during working hours and therefore easily accessable. An example of a Safety Plan can be seen on the left.

It is important for staff members to create their own Safety Plans for a couple of reasons. First, when staff members create Safety Plans they are modeling emotional regulation techniques for the residents. This can be very powerful, especially if a resident is having a difficult time creating a Safety Plan on their own. Second, working with traumatized people may lead to a secondary trauma; it is important to be mindful of the ways that residents and coworkers may "push a person's buttons." Additionally, when people are under stress, thinking camn be compromised,. Therefore, having an accessible Safety Plan can be very helpful for adults too! Overall, having a personal Safety Plan can be a good reminder of the ways to regulate emotions when feeling overwhelmed. Safey plans should also bne frequently updated as different thins may help at different times in a person's life.

Example of a Staff Member's Safety Plan

Creating a Safety Plan

Blank Safety Plan

Questions to ask yourself before creating your Safety Plan:

1. How do you know when you are so upset that you have lost control of your feelings?

2. What do you do when your emotions get too intense?

3. What usually helps when you feel this way?

4. Specifically, who can you turn to? How can they help?

5. If you are honest with yourself, what are the areas where you are most in danger of losing control (trigger points - thing that make you extremely angry or upset)?

6. What will be your plan for coping in a safe way when you become extremely angry or upset? List 5 things that you could do while here at work (example on right):