The What Are Safety Behaviors? information handout describes the essential features of safety-seeking behaviors, including their short-term benefits and long-term impacts.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Safety-seeking behaviors (‘safety behaviors’) are actions that people take in response to a real – or perceived – threat. When a threat is real, safety-seeking behaviors are adaptive. Stepping out of the way of a speeding car, leaving a burning building, or attending hospital when faced with a medical emergency are all actions which can save your life. However, if a misinterpretation leads an individual to perceive a threat in the absence of real danger, safety-seeking behaviors can prevent the anxious individual from learning about the (true) absence of danger.
The What Are Safety Behaviors? information handout can be used to introduce clients to the concept of safety-seeking behaviors, their short-term advantages, and their long-term effects.
Understanding and addressing safety behaviors is an important part of many therapies, especially CBT:
Where safety behaviors perpetuate fear and anxiety.
Where safety behaviors maintain concerns about shape, weight, and eating.
Where safety behaviors reinforce a sense of current threat.
Use the resource to educate clients about safety behaviors.
Reflect on the short-term and long-term consequences of using safety behaviors.
Identify and explore the client's safety behaviors and their impacts.
Encourage the client to experiment with reducing their safety behaviors to see the effect this has.
Safety-seeking behaviors, also known as "safety behaviors," are actions that individuals take in response to a real or perceived threat. When a threat is genuine, these behaviors can be helpful and adaptive. However, if someone misinterprets a situation and perceives a threat where none exists, safety-seeking behaviors can prevent that person from learning about the true absence of danger. Additionally, safety behaviors often provide a sense of relief in the short term, which reinforces their use.
Understanding safety-seeking behaviors has important treatment implications. Instead of relying solely on exposure therapy - where safety behaviors might diminish its effectiveness - therapists can design behavioral experiments that directly disprove the individual's threat beliefs. For instance, someone who fears choking on a train can be encouraged to take a trip without their bottle of water to see if their throat will close up.
