Learn how to co-create safety plans with adolescents and caregivers. Explore the basic underlying principles of safety planning, then learn the ASCP (Adolescent Safety and Coping Plan) to help support adolescents’ ability to cope and stay safe during distress, suicidal ideation, and crisis.

Simulated therapy session: This course includes a simulated therapy session with the instructor, Kimberly O’Brien, Jasmine (a teenage girl experiencing suicidal thoughts), and Jasmine’s father, Michael (clients played by actors) as they develop a safety plan for Jasmine and her father. 

Learn more about Jasmine & Michael in the course Suicide Risk Screening & Assessment.

Course curriculum

    1. Welcome!

    2. Our Plan

    1. Overview

    2. Prevalence

    3. What Is Safety Planning?

    4. What a Safety Plan is Not

    5. Building a Therapeutic Alliance with Clients and Families

    1. Overview

    2. How to Talk with Clients About Safety Planning

    3. Introduction to the ASCP

    4. Overview of the ASCP

    5. ASCP: Knowing What to Expect from the Session

    6. Client Information: Introducing Jasmine and Her Family

    7. ASCP Simulation: Introducing Safety Planning

    8. ASCP: Meeting with the Client Alone

    9. ASCP Simulation: The Client Interview Part 1

    10. ASCP Simulation: The Client Interview Part 2

    11. ASCP: The Parent/Caregiver Interview

    12. ASCP Simulation: The Parent/Caregiver Interview

    13. ASCP: Adolescent & Parent/Caregiver Interview Together

    14. ASCP Simulation: Adolescent & Parent Interview

    15. Debrief after ASCP Simulation

    1. Overview

    2. What if an Adolescent is Having Trouble Filling Out the Safety Scale On Their Own?

    3. How Can Parents/Caregivers Use the Safety Scale to Know If Their Child is Having an Emergency?

    4. What if the Parent/Caregiver Relationship is the Trigger?

    1. Overview

    2. Creating the Safety Plans

    3. ASCP Simulation: Jasmine's Safety Plan Documented

    4. ASCP Simulation: Michael's Parent Safety Plan

    5. ASCP Simulation: Jasmine's Safety Scale

    6. Progress Notes

    1. Overview: Review

    2. Review

    3. Bibliography

    4. Nice Work!

About this course

  • $29.00
  • 2.5 CE Credits (Clinical)
  • Online, self-paced, noninteractive course
  • Available in the U.S. and Canada

Meet the Instructor

Kimberly O’Brien

Kimberly O’Brien, PhD, LICSW is the founder and director of Unlimited Resilience, LLC and co-founder and director of Athletes Better Together. She is also a research and training consultant at the Behavioral Research & Training Institute at Rutgers University. She obtained her MSW (’05) and PhD (’11) from Boston College and completed her postdoctoral fellowship (’13) at Brown University. Her research is focused on intervention development for suicidal adolescents and their families, with additional specializations in substance use, interventions which utilize technology, and athlete mental health and suicide prevention. Dr. O’Brien has co-authored over 75 articles and book chapters related to adolescent suicide, substance use, and mental health, and was awarded the Young Investigator Research Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in 2019. She is also co-author of the book Mentality Wins: The Athlete’s Playbook for Thriving in Sport and Life, as well as the book Emotionally Naked: A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk.

Course Details

Credits: This course offers 2.5 Clinical CE

Cost: $29

Format: This is an online, self-paced, noninteractive course that includes reading and recorded videos (asynchronous course).

Registration: To register for this course, click the “Buy Now” button. This course is self-paced, so you can join at any time after completing your registration and payment.

Practice Level: Beginner

Target Audience: Clinical social workers interested in developing foundational knowledge related to safety planning with adolescents and families

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, you will learn to:

  • Identify when safety planning is indicated with an adolescent.

  • Define key aspects of building a therapeutic alliance with adolescents and their parents/caregivers when suicidality is a concern.

  • Explain safety planning utilizing the Adolescent Safety and Coping Plan (ASCP), developed from the gold standard evidence-based Safety Planning Intervention (SPI).

  • Describe how safety scaling can be used to help adolescents identify and understand their emotions, utilize coping skills to manage them, and communicate information about risks and current needs to trusted adults.

Continuing Education Credits

Continuing education credits are available to social workers in most U.S. states, and in all Canadian provinces. If your state uses CE Broker, you will need to manually upload your certificate of credit. Learn more

Additional Information

Refund & Cancellation Policy: GetPractice will fully refund requests from learners who have not completed a course. If a learner has completed all requirements of a course and received their certificate of completion, they are no longer eligible for a refund. 

Accessibility: Please email [email protected] to discuss any questions or requests regarding accessibility & accommodations. 

System Requirements: This course is hosted on the GetPractice site. To complete the course and all required course materials, learners will login to the GetPractice course site. Learners will need a computer or smartphone and an internet connection to complete the course.

Course Completion Requirements: To complete the course and receive their certificate of credit, learners will complete all online lessons in the course, a posttest (a passing score of 80% is required, learners can retake the test if needed), and a course evaluation. Once these components are successfully completed, the learner’s certificate of credit will be available immediately on the course page and in their learner account.

Availability Notice:  GetPractice courses are only available for sales in the U.S. and Canada.

Questions or Concerns: Please reach out to [email protected] 

Course Creation Date: 3/19/26

GetPractice LLC, provider #2517, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period:11/14/25-11/14/26. Social workers completing this course receive 2.5 clinical continuing education credits.

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