When Risk Emerges
Planning and Parting
Resources to Reach For
Holding Complexity and Differences
For Those Who Hold Space
A warm, quick-access space to support your voice when the words feel far away.
These phrases are not scripts.
They’re starting points — language you can soften, reshape, or simply draw inspiration from when presence meets pressure.
Use what resonates, leave what doesn’t.
🧵 Additive Empathy
Not just mirroring emotion — expanding it with care.
Instead of just saying:
- “That sounds hard.”
Try layering more presence:
- “That sounds incredibly heavy — like it’s been weighing on you for a long time.”
- “You’re carrying so much, and I’m really glad you’re not carrying it alone right now.”
- “I can feel how much this has hurt. Thank you for trusting me with it.”
🌸 Gentle Rewordings of Clinical Prompts
When required questions meet soft tone.
Suicide Assessment
Required: “Have you had thoughts of suicide today or in the past few days?”
Reworded:
- “I want to ask something important to make sure I understand where you’re at. Have thoughts of suicide come up today, or in the last few days?”
- “Sometimes when things feel this intense, thoughts of suicide can come up. Have they been showing up for you today, or in the last few days?
Safety Plan Prompts
Required: “What coping skills can you use?”
Reworded:
- “Are there things that have helped even a little bit before, when it’s felt this hard?”
- “If you wanted to get through the next few hours safely, what might make that feel even a bit more doable?”
🔍 Clarifying vs. Confronting
When you’re unsure — but still want to sound human.
Instead of…
- “You said you were okay earlier, but now you’re saying you’re not. Which is it?”
Try…
- “I want to make sure I’m understanding right — earlier it sounded like things were manageable, but now it feels like they might not be. Did I get that right?”
Instead of…
- “That doesn’t make sense.”
Try…
- “I’m not totally sure I followed that — could you tell me a little more?”
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