Trigger Identification and Safety Plan Worksheet

Use this worksheet to guide your personal safety plan. Fill in each section thoughtfully—leave no blank unanswered.

Section 1: Identify Your Personal Triggers

Think of situations, people, places, or feelings that prompt urges to use. Under each category, list at least 1–2 triggers you experience.

People

Places

Emotions

Events/Situations

Other (Times, Anniversaries, Routines)

Section 2: SMART Coping Strategies

For each trigger above, write a coping strategy that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Section 3: Develop Your Safety Plan

1. Early Warning Signs (thoughts, feelings, behaviors):

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2. Emergency Contacts (Name – Relationship – Phone):
   1. __________________________ – ________________ – ______________
      
      
      
      
      
      
   2. __________________________ – ________________ – ______________
      
      
      
      
      
      
   3. __________________________ – ________________ – ______________
      
      
      
      
      
      
3. Immediate Action Steps (what you will do right away):
   a. _______________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   b. _______________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   c. _______________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Safe Environments (places or people you can go to):

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Section 4: Reflection & Role-Play Preparation

In a moment, you will practice using your plan with Role-Play Scenario Cards. Before you begin, reflect below:

1. The part of my plan I feel most confident about is:

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2. The part I find most challenging or want to improve is:

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3. In the role-play, I will focus on:

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Safety Plan Group Discussion

Purpose

This discussion helps group members reflect on the process of identifying triggers, crafting SMART coping strategies, and practicing their Safety Plan. By sharing insights and giving feedback, participants strengthen their commitment to recovery and learn from each other’s experiences.

Discussion Guidelines

• Confidentiality: What’s shared here stays here.
• Respectful Listening: Allow each person to finish before responding.
• Constructive Feedback: Offer observations and suggestions, not judgment.
• Equal Participation: Encourage quieter members to share and keep talkative members concise.

Discussion Questions

1. Reflecting on Triggers

• What was most meaningful about identifying your personal triggers in Section 1 of the Trigger Identification and Safety Plan Worksheet?
  • Follow-up: Were any triggers new or surprising to you?
  • Follow-up: How did naming your triggers change how you think about high-risk situations?

2. Crafting SMART Coping Strategies

• How did you decide which SMART strategy to pair with each trigger?
  • Follow-up: Which element of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) felt easiest or hardest to address?
  • Follow-up: Do you foresee any barriers to using these strategies in real life?

3. Role-Play Experiences

• During the role-play with the Role-Play Scenario Cards, how did it feel to practice your Safety Plan?
  • Follow-up: What part of your plan felt most natural to enact?
  • Follow-up: Which step gave you the most pause or felt challenging?

4. Group Feedback and Idea-Sharing

• What new coping ideas did you pick up from watching or coaching your partner?
• Are there modifications you’d make to your plan based on peer suggestions?

5. Commitment and Next Steps

• What one action will you commit to doing this week to reinforce your Safety Plan? (e.g., reviewing worksheet daily, practicing a specific coping skill, calling an emergency contact)
• How can this group help hold you accountable?

Wrap-Up Reflection

On a scale of 1–5, how confident do you feel about using your Safety Plan in a real trigger situation?
1 = Not confident at all 5 = Very confident

Share your number and one reason for choosing it.

Closing: Remind everyone to keep their worksheets accessible and to reach out to their emergency contacts at the first sign of stress. Thank the group for their honesty and support.

Role Play Scenario Cards

Use these cards to practice applying your Safety Plan in realistic situations. In pairs, draw a card and role-play:

• Partner A acts out the triggering situation described.
• Partner B practices using their Safety Plan: naming early warning signs, calling an emergency contact, or enacting a SMART coping strategy.

Scenario 1: After-Work Drinks

You’re out celebrating a big project win with colleagues. They order shots of liquor, and everyone’s cheering. You feel the urge to join in and “take the edge off.”

Scenario 2: Family Stress Call

You receive a tense phone call from a family member arguing about old resentments. You feel overwhelmed, anxious, and tempted to use to cope.

Scenario 3: Passing Your Old Neighborhood

While driving, you pass by the street where you used to buy and use substances. Memories flood back, and you feel your resolve weakening.

Scenario 4: Anniversary of Loss

Today is the anniversary of a loved one’s death. You’re alone and feeling lonely, sad, and tempted to self-medicate.

Scenario 5: Unexpected Job Stress

Your boss calls you into the office on a Friday afternoon with urgent, last-minute feedback. You’re stressed and worried about failing.

Scenario 6: Social Media Trigger

You scroll through social media and see friends partying with substances. You feel left out and start craving the familiarity.

Scenario 7: Emotional Anniversary

It’s been one month since you relapsed in the past. Fear and guilt resurface, and you feel like “it may as well happen again.”

Scenario 8: Peer Pressure at a Gathering

At a house party, someone notices you’re sober and offers you a drink to “loosen up.” They tease you for being the only one abstaining.