Unfortunately, situations arise when clinicians need to make assessments of a person's ability to keep themselves or other safe. This may arise for many clinical reasons, including (but certainly not limited to) extreme stress, trauma history, feeling trapped or overwhelmed, psychosis or other severe mental illness, substance use, or lack of other available coping tools. When our clients express that they may hurt themselves or others we need to consider both the legal and ethical codes that bind and guide our clinical work. And we need to consider the client's safety in both the immediate moments and near future. For these reasons we need to familiarize ourselves with when and how to conduct safety planning, which likely includes questions about suicide, self-harm, and homicidal ideation. This assessment may result in increased services, including hospitalization, but may also lead to the creation of a safety plan to be used within the home and school/work setting. Please answer at least two questions:

• When should you conduct a suicide, self-harm, or homicide assessment?
• When should you involve the authorities in a safety plan (this may vary by state)?
• What do our ethical codes say about harm to a child or other dependent?
• What do our ethical codes say about confidentiality of information when safety is at risk?
• What elements could be considered to be included in a non-hospitalization safety plan?
• When should a hospitalization safety plan be considered?
• What is your comfort level with safety planning with clients?