Coping planning
Coping planning is an approach to supporting people who are distressed.[1][2][3] It is part of a biopsychosocial approach to health and wellbeing that comprises healthy environments, responsive parenting, belonging, healthy activities, coping, resilience and treatment of illness.[4]
Coping planning normalises distress as a universal human experience[5]. A coping plan app acts as a prompt to use healthy coping strategies.
The aims of Coping Planning[6] are to:
- promote coping
- meet the needs of people who are distressed
- be easy to use by clinicians and people who support others
- eliminate stigma related to suicide
- prevent suicide
A needs and person-centred approach to suicide prevention
Coping planning is an approach that aims to meet the needs of people who ask for help with distress, including suicidal ideation.[7]. It provides an alternative to the widely-used, but non-evidence-based risk-assessment approach to suicide prevention[8] and safety planning that keeps people's attention on 'staying safe from suicide' rather than on coping.
Steps in Coping Planning[9]
1. Care. Be available to listen and care about people who are distressed.
2. Collaborate. Asking how the person is coping and helping them think about additional healthy coping strategies they could use
3. Connect. Helping the person connect with health professionals if they need more support.
- ^ Stallman, H. M. (2017). Meeting the needs of patients who have suicidal thoughts presenting to Emergency Departments. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 29(6), 749. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.12867
- ^ Stallman, H. M. & Wilson, C. J. (2018). Can the mental health of Australians be improved by dual strategy for promotion and prevention? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Advance online doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867417752070
- ^ Stallman, H. M., Ohan, J. L. (2018). The alignment of law, practice and need in suicide prevention. BJPsych Bulletin, Advance online publication, https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2017.3
- ^ Stallman, H. M. (2017). Coping Planning: A patient- and strengths-focused approach to suicide prevention training. Australasian Psychiatry. Advance online doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856217732471
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqAbIlD7jaQ
- ^ https://www.healthyuniversities.org/?page_id=2225
- ^ Stallman, H. M. (2017). Coping Planning: A patient- and strengths-focused approach to suicide prevention training. Australasian Psychiatry. Advance online doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856217732471
- ^ Franklin, JC, Ribeiro, JD, Fox, KR. Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Psychol Bull 2016; 143: 187–232. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000084
- ^ Stallman, H. M. (2017). Care · Collaborate · Connect: Suicide Prevention. Adelaide: University of South Australia.