Coping planning is an approach to supporting people who are distressed.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'', 52(6), 602. It is part of a

biopsychosocial Biopsychosocial models (BPSM) are a class of trans-disciplinary models which look at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio- environmental factors. These models specifically examine how these aspects play a role in a range o ...

approach to

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and well-being that comprises healthy environments, responsive parenting, belonging, healthy activities,

coping Coping refers to conscious or unconscious strategies used to reduce and manage unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. To cope is to deal with struggles and difficulties in life. It ...

psychological resilience Psychological resilience, or mental resilience, is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly. The term was popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by psychologist Emmy Werner as she conduc ...

and treatment of illness.Stallman, H. M. (2018). Coping planning: a patient-centred and strengths-focused approach to suicide prevention training. ''Australasian Psychiatry'', 26(2), 141–144. Coping planning normalises distress as a universal human experience. It draws on a health-focused approach to coping, to improve

emotion regulation The self-regulation of emotion or emotion regulation is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as wel ...

and decrease the memory of unpleasant emotions. Coping planning interventions are effective when people are supported in the process of forming coping plans.

Approach

Coping planning aims to meet the needs of people who ask for help with distress, including suicidal ideation. By addressing ''why'' someone asks for help, the focus stays on what the person needs rather than on what the helper wants to do. It provides an alternative to the widely used, but non-evidence-based risk-assessment approach to

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public healt ...

Needs assessment A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps", between current conditions, and desired conditions, or "wants". Needs assessments can help improve policy or program decisions, individuals, education, ...

and support focuses on the individual needs of each person. They are rated as low (coping independently), moderate (may need additional low-intensity professional support), or high (needs immediate high-intensity professional support).

Applications

In addition to suicide prevention training for health professionals, coping planning has been used to train journalists, and to help a range of people cope better, including carers, university students, and with children to improve

emotional regulation The self-regulation of emotion or emotion regulation is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as wel ...

In suicide prevention

Coping planning is designed to contribute to

in a number of ways. Firstly, it provides a framework to support people whenever they seek help, rather than waiting until they are considered high-risk for death by suicide. Secondly, it aims to focus on helping people to cope, rather than to stay safe from suicide, which, according to

ironic process theory Ironic process theory (IPT), also known as the Pink elephant paradox or White bear phenomenon, suggests that when an individual intentionally tries to avoid thinking a certain thought or feeling a certain emotion, a paradoxical effect is produced: t ...

, makes it more likely that people will think about suicide. Healthy coping strategies improve overall wellbeing and reduce distress.Stallman, H. M., Ohan, J. L., & Chiera, B. (2018). The role of social support, being present, and self-kindness in university student psychological distress. ''Australian Psychologist'', 53(1), 52–59. The approach is designed for use in both low (e.g., psychological first aiders or telephone helplines) and high intensity services (e.g.,

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

s or

inpatient care Inpatient care is the care of patients whose condition requires admission to a hospital. Progress in modern medicine and the advent of comprehensive out-patient clinics ensure that patients are only admitted to a hospital when they are extremel ...

units).

References

{{Reflist Human behavior Psychological stress Planning Suicide prevention

Approach

Applications

In suicide prevention

See also

References