Pyramid of Crisis Response & Planning – A Visual Resource
The nature of crisis is that it is (1) overwhelming, and (2) inevitable. Whether you are a clinician in the helping professions or a person in relationship with other persons, crisis will show up eventually. When it does, we can all be a little more ready to handle potentially overwhelming experiences by planning how to assess, connect, process, and plan.
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A great way to be prepared is by developing a crisis plan ahead of time. Crisis planning doesn’t have to be a dramatic intervention done by professionals (although knowing when to bring in professional help is an essential part of a crisis plan). In fact, good crisis planning can be done over coffee, in the carpool lane, or just about anywhere else.
I’m not talking about filling out forms about risk factors and primary, secondary emergency contacts, I’m talking about the kind of conversations that might sound a little more like “Last time you were really down, I was scared because I didn’t know how to help you. Can you tell me what kind of things help a little when things feel that bad?” or “I like that you know you can reach out to me when you are feeling bad and don’t you don’t go into hiding. Do you know who you would call if I wasn’t available?”
Download as a printable PDF:
In the words of a professor from my grad school, “The best time to do crisis planning is when we aren’t in crisis.” Conversations with your people outside of crisis, when everyone is thinking more clearly, help set expectations and boundaries for how crisis can be handled. The same instructor who adamantly argued for crisis planning outside of crisis situations also advocated that everyone – including mental health workers – should develop their own crisis plan: a list of what to do, safe places to go, ways to safely distract, and people to reach out to when our own crises come.
If you need an easy-to-use crisis planning template, I’ve included the version pictured below as a FREE download on my Patreon account, which can be downloaded here. One strategy/gameplan for supporting others through a crisis can be found in my RO-DBT Responding to Crisis Handout.
Click here to download the Crisis Plan below for free.
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If you are in crisis or need help creating a crisis plan urgently, reach out to a mental healthcare provider in your area, contact the crisis text line by texting “home” to 741741, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. The educational resources included on this site are not therapy and do not replace mental health treatment or crisis services. For more information see Terms of Use.
Image Description for Screen Readers:
White background with a multicolored pyramid, and a grey banner on top that reads, “Pyramid of Crisis Planning.” The bottom tier of the pyramid is yellow and says, “Assess Crisis.” The next tier of the pyramid, above, is orange and says, “Build Trust.” The next tier of the pyramid, above, is pink and says, “I.D. Immediate Cause.” The next tier of the pyramid, above, is purple and says, “Process Emotion.” The next tier of the pyramid, above, is dark blue and says, “Explore Options.” The next tier of the pyramid, above, is light blue and says, “Co-Create Plan.” The top tier of the pyramid is green and says, “Follow Up.” Information from Robert’s (2005) Seven Stage Crisis Intervention Model. Visually Translated by Lindsay Braman.
