Crisis Management Plan
Using our Crisis Management Plan, you and your client can be prepared to manage and overcome any situation.
Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.
What is a Crisis Management Plan?
A crisis management plan is a document designed to prepare for an emergency for your client and those around them. The plan allows for effective responses to manage adverse situations by providing information, manageable steps, and communication channels before, during, and after a crisis.
Although a crisis may differ between clients, it is typically a circumstance where client symptoms or an event escalate in severity. This may lead to harm to a client or others around them. Implementing a crisis management plan provides steps and priorities to reduce its severity and invoke resilience to future adversity (Marker, 2020/2023).
Planning allows individuals to prepare and prevent crises. It begins by identifying warning signals, initial steps, communication channels, and future prevention strategies that may be used depending on the level of severity (Amaresan, 2022; Wang & Gupta, 2023). The format allows the framework to be repeatable and tailored to meet the needs of different circumstances.
By using our crisis management plan, professionals and clients can rest assured that they are prepared to overcome adverse, stressful situations. This can help restore the situation as soon as possible, avert harm, reduce the use of costly resources, and prevent setbacks in the aftermath of a crisis.
Printable Crisis Management Plan
Download this Crisis Management Plan to help clients prepare for an emergency.
How does it work?
Our Crisis Management Plan provides a visual structure displaying relevant information required to prevent or mitigate a crisis. The template offers a roadmap for constructing a plan, beginning with prevention at stage one and ending with reviewing the crisis to update the plan. To show you how this works, follow these steps:
Step 1: Access the template
Access our free template here, or download the printable PDF using the link below:
Download the Printable Crisis Management Plan Template here.
Step 2: Consultation and collaboration
Schedule a consultation with your client to provide a copy and discuss how this template may be beneficial. If clients wish to implement this within their more comprehensive management strategies, work alongside clients to fill the template.
This must be a client-led collaboration; providers give recommendations and suggestions where required.
Step 3: Keep a copy
In some circumstances, such as mental health spaces, keeping a copy of the completed Crisis Management Plan may be essential. This may be kept in patient records for future use or prevention of crises.
Clients may pass copies of the plan to trusted individuals within their support network, such as their friends or caregivers. This may help prepare those around them and enhance the support available to the client.
Crisis Management Plan example (sample)
It can be challenging to plan and prepare for a crisis, given that they are often spontaneous and differ from individual to individual. Our crisis management template breaks down the steps to de-escalate a situation, allowing for proactive action during a crisis.
We have created an example template to show you how our crisis management plan works. This template takes information from a fictitious individual that you may use as a reference within your practice. However, this example should differ from individual advice or personalized crisis management plans.
The example can be accessed here or downloaded as a PDF using the link below:
Download this Crisis Management Plan example:
When would you use this template?
The template is most beneficial for scenarios involving crisis management. Individuals, clients, or teams can use the template to break down the procedures and strategies that may help them prepare for a crisis. Here are some scenarios in which the template may be used:
- Crisis response: As a visual resource, the template provides steps for quick action to de-escalate or prevent crises.
- Drill practice: The template can help inform crisis drills or practice procedures to help prepare individuals for a situation. For example, health centers may devise a drill so all team members are well-rehearsed for protocols.
- Following a crisis: If an individual or team experiences a crisis, whether medical, environmental, or organizational, it is essential to reflect on the situation to prevent future occurrences. Using the template allows individuals to identify what may have led to the crisis and develop protocols to mitigate it from happening again.
- Risk analysis: The first section helps identify signals and risks contributing to a crisis. This can help individuals prepare for a crisis and eliminate risk factors.
Planning can be the deciding factor for response, which can govern the severity of a crisis. By accessing our Free Crisis Management Template, individuals and practitioners can proactively manage a crisis, reducing the aftermath and reoccurrence of the situation.
Benefits of a Crisis Plan
Avert danger
Crises can often harm an individual or those around them. Using the template, clients and support networks may be more equipped to handle the situation, averting danger to health and wellbeing.
Empowerment and efficacy
The plan provides an opportunity for client engagement, whereby empowering clients to take control of the template may promote active engagement for treatment. Additionally, the plan may help individuals become more aware of signals, develop coping mechanisms, and become more resilient to overcome adversity.
Information release
A crisis management plan can ensure consistent messaging between individuals and organizations, resulting in a quick flow of information surrounding the situation and protocols. This may also result in a proactive response to the situation.
Reduce costs
The plan can identify risks or warnings for early intervention, which may reduce the need for resources such as emergency departments or hospitalization, which can be costly.
Prevents setbacks
The aftermath of a crisis can often result in poorer outcomes for the individual, such as low self-esteem, job loss, or loss of confidence. A crisis is often incredibly stressful for supporting individuals like friends and family. Repeated stressful scenarios can cause burnout of an individual and their support network. However, a crisis can mitigate the setbacks following a crisis to reduce adversity.
Why use Carepatron as your Crisis Management Plan app?
Our vision at Carepatron is to provide practical solutions to support your practice, allowing you to focus on providing the best care to your clients. Our Crisis Management Plan app and software allow effective practice management to help prepare and prevent crises.
As an online platform, Carepatron provides clients and practitioners mobile access to client records and resources like this to help inform plans and interventions. This encourages clients to take a practical role in their treatment, creating a collaborative therapeutic relationship.
Moreover, our patient portal allows patients to access the plan and other essential documents on the go. Crises are often spontaneous. Thus, having mobile access to a plan allows for early intervention and practical steps for management.
Often, many individuals outside the client alone may be involved in management. Our software allows clinical documentation and resources to be shared across teams, which is particularly beneficial for collaborations between practitioners, support services, and emergency contacts. This ensures everyone is on the same stage regarding protocol, which may enhance prevention and reduce the effects of the crisis.
By choosing Carepatron as your ideal Crisis Management Plan app and software, individuals and those around them can be proactive in their responses and reduce future occurrences.
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References
Amaresan, S. (2022). 10 Crisis Communication Plan Examples (and How to Write Your Own). HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/crisis-communication-plan
Cassivi, C., Sergerie-Richard, S., Saint-Pierre, B., & Goulet, M. (2023). Crisis plans in mental health: A scoping review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(5), 1259-1273. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inm.13158
Marker, A. (2020). Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Crisis Management Plan. Smartsheet. https://www.smartsheet.com/content/crisis-management-plan
Wang, D., & Gupta, V. (2023). Crisis Intervention. StatPearls Publishing LLC. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559081/
Commonly asked questions
A Crisis Management Plan can be created using our template as a reference. The template breaks down the sections of information and procedures that may be useful to de-escalate the situation.
These templates are used for various scenarios associated with mitigating or preventing crises. The plan is often developed under the guidance of a professional and can be passed on to the support networks surrounding the individual.
The template is used to simplify crisis management plans, allowing individuals and those around them to develop proactive responses to the situation.
