Risk Assessment and Safety Planning in Mental Health Nursing 2025

Vocabulary flashcards related to risk assessment and safety planning in mental health nursing.

Risk

The likelihood of an event happening with potentially harmful or beneficial outcomes for self or others.

Dignity of Risk

Affording a person the right to take reasonable risks, acknowledging impeding this can suffocate personal growth, self-esteem and overall quality of life.

Capacity

Making or acting on a decision; understanding and communicating the decision.

Shared decision making (SDM)

Clinicians and patients working together to make decisions.

Risk Factors

Increase the person's risk.

Protective Factors

Reduce the person's risk.

Dynamic Risk Factors

Factors that fluctuate in intensity and duration.

Static Risk Factors

Factors that don’t change (fixed or historical).

Unstructured Clinical Judgement

Assessment based on intuition and gut feeling.

Actuarial Methods

Assessment using tools.

Structured Clinical Judgement

Assessment combining intuition, tools, and research evidence.

Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

An assessment method common as a pain scale that is also used for anxiety and assessing suicide risk.

Positive Risk Taking

Exploring new challenges leading to person growth and ongoing development.

Taha Tinana

Physical well-being.

Taha Wairua

Spiritual well-being.

Taha Hinengaro

Mental & emotional well-being.

Taha Whanau

Family well-being.

Whenua

The concept of land and roots.

Safety Planning Outcomes

Recognition of warning signs, internal coping strategies, strategies for distraction and support, social contact for assistance and professional agency contacts.

MAPS (Mental Health Advance Preference Statements)

A way to make sure whaiora have a say in decisions; can include preferred treatments and who they want involved in their care.

Whakawhanaungatanga

A process of building relationships.