Suicide prevention traditionally emphasises the reduction of risk and distress, but a focus on strengths is needed to guide recovery-oriented care and supportive interventions. Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2019) offers such a framework, highlighting universal human needs for autonomy (a sense of choice and control), competence (the ability to act effectively), and relatedness (connection with others). When these needs are met, research has shown that people are more likely to flourish; when unmet, vulnerability to suicidal thinking may increase.
Safety planning is a widely implemented intervention providing a structured framework for people to document warning signs, coping strategies, and support persons to call upon in times of suicidal crisis (Stanley & Brown, 2012). Over the past decade, safety planning has become a standard component of suicide prevention care internationally and is supported by two systematic reviews and a meta-analysis linking its use with reductions in suicidal behaviour (Ferguson et al., 2021; Marshall et al., 2023; Nuij et al., 2021). While first developed as a paper-based intervention, digital formats are now common. Australia’s Beyond Now smartphone app guides more than 50,000 people annually to create self-directed safety plans (Lifeline, 2025).
Conceptual work suggests its effectiveness may partly stem from supporting self-determination: fostering autonomy through personalised choice, competence through rehearsal of coping strategies, and relatedness through identification of supportive others (Rogers et al., 2022). However, self-determination outcomes have not previously been examined directly in the context of safety planning.
This presentation reports on the first such investigation, drawing on data from 586 people in Australia who downloaded the Beyond Now app and made a suicide safety plan. Participants completed validated measures of suicidal ideation, suicide-related coping, autonomy, competence, and relatedness at baseline and again at three months. Significant improvements were observed across all domains over time. Higher autonomy and competence were associated with lower suicidal ideation at three months, and higher competence and relatedness were associated with higher suicide-related coping at three months. These findings suggest that strengthening self-determination may represent one pathway through which safety planning supports recovery.
Framing suicide prevention in terms of self-determination highlights possibilities beyond crisis management alone. By attending to agency, mastery, and connection, safety planning may foster conditions where people feel better able to make positive choices, cope and draw on supportive relationships. This approach offers a hopeful lens for understanding how digital tools may contribute to more connected futures for people experiencing suicidal distress.