Risk assessment record for counsellors (UK)
When a client tells you they are not safe, what you write afterwards matters almost as much as what you do. This guide covers how to record risk conversations and decisions clearly, without scores that claim to predict anything.
By the NoteSono team · Last reviewed · 8 sources checked
The short answer
A good risk record sets out what prompted the conversation, what you asked, what the client said in their own words, what helps keep them safe, your judgement and the reasons for it, what you did, whether a safety plan was reviewed, who you told and on what basis, and when you will follow up.
It is a record of a conversation and a decision, not a scoring tool. BACP, drawing on NICE guidance on self-harm, says assessment tools should not be used to determine risk of suicide or to sort clients into low, medium or high risk. A free record template is below.
A record, not a risk score
Searches for a "risk assessment template" often turn up checklists that add up risk factors into a score. For suicide and self-harm, current UK guidance points away from that.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| NICE guideline NG225 on self-harm, as quoted by BACP | Recommendation 1.6.1: "Do not use risk assessment tools and scales to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm." Recommendation 1.6.3: do not use global risk stratification into low, medium or high risk for that purpose. |
| BACP suicide prevention resources | Assessment tools "should not be used to determine risk of suicide or repetition of self-harm" or to categorise clients into low, medium or high risk. BACP says comprehensive, client-centred risk formulation and safety planning are more effective. The guidance does not stop you using measures for other purposes. |
So the template on this page has no score and no rating. It records what was said, what you made of it, and what you did. That is also the record that is most useful to the client, to your supervisor, and to anyone reviewing your practice later.
Further BACP reading
Free risk and safeguarding record template
Use this alongside your session note when risk or safeguarding comes up, and point to it from the note. Copy it into your own document or download it as a Word file.
Crisis wording to give clients
Where a client may need help between sessions, give them something in writing. This wording uses the routes the NHS lists for urgent mental health help. Add local details and keep it with their safety plan.
Writing a risk record well
- Write it close to the time. BACP's GPiA 065 favours brief, factual notes written soon after the session, and a risk record is where accuracy matters most.
- Quote the client. "I wouldn't do it because of my kids" tells a reader far more than "protective factors present".
- Record what you asked as well as what you were told. If you did not ask about something, the record should not imply that you did.
- Show your reasoning. A decision with reasons you can explain is easier to defend than one that matches a checklist.
- Record decisions not to act, too. If you considered sharing information and decided not to, say why.
- Keep it factual and respectful. Clients can ask to see their records, including this one.
- Never alter it later to look better. Add a dated addendum instead. Amending records to prevent disclosure is an offence.
Take every risk conversation to supervision, and record that you did. BACP's Ethical Framework (point 93) expects practitioners to use supervision and other professional resources to support and challenge their work.
Confidentiality limits and when to share
Clients should know the limits of confidentiality before they need them. Put them in your contract and go through them at assessment. See our therapy contract template for wording.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| BACP Ethical Framework | Point 10: the need to safeguard clients or others from serious harm may require us to override a client's wishes, while respecting the parts that do not need to be overridden. Point 55d: tell clients about reasonably foreseeable limits of confidentiality, including to protect a client or others from serious harm and safeguarding commitments. Point 55f: disclosure needs client consent or a legally and ethically recognised justification. |
| UKCP Code of Ethics (2019) | Clause 21: there are legal and ethical limits to confidentiality, and clients should be told when information might be disclosed to a third party. Clause 35: safeguard children and vulnerable adults and take appropriate action if someone is at risk of harm. |
| NCPS Code of Ethics | Confidentiality is limited where it conflicts with the safety of the client or the practitioner, or with legal requirements such as the Children Acts. When working with young people, where a client may be at risk, direct communication is required. |
| Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners (DfE, April 2024) | For children's safeguarding in England: consent is not required to share information under data protection law, data protection should not prevent sharing to safeguard children, and you should record your decision to share or not share, with your reasons. |
Should you ask for consent first?
Where you can, talk to the client before sharing and try to agree it together. But the government's 2024 advice warns against asking for consent when you would share anyway, because it "presents the individual with a false choice", and says seeking consent from a suspected abuser could undermine a safeguarding response. Record what you decided and why.
Requests from the police and others
BACP's GPiA 065 notes that police cannot usually access client records without the client's explicit consent, a warrant from a circuit judge, or statutory authority. Take advice before releasing records in response to a request, and record what was asked for and what you provided.
When the client asks for the record
A risk record is part of the client's personal data. If they ask for their records, the usual subject access rules apply, including the one-month deadline. Our subject access request guide covers what you can and cannot withhold.
Emergencies first
Common questions
Should counsellors use a suicide risk scale?
Not to predict suicide or self-harm. NICE guidance on self-harm, as BACP reports it, says risk assessment tools and scales should not be used to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm, or to sort people into low, medium or high risk. Measures can still be used for other purposes, such as tracking distress over time.
Do I need a client's consent to share a safeguarding concern?
Not always. BACP allows disclosure without consent where there is a legally and ethically recognised justification, such as protecting someone from serious harm. For children in England, the 2024 government advice says consent is not required under data protection law. Involve the client where it is safe to, and record your decision and reasons.
Should the risk record be separate from session notes?
It is often clearer to keep a separate risk and safeguarding record and refer to it from the session note. Either way, it is part of the client's record and is covered by your retention policy and by subject access rights.
Can a client see what I wrote about their risk?
Usually, yes. Clients have a right of access to their personal data, and the record should be written on that basis. There are limited exemptions, for example for information about other people, which our subject access request guide explains.
What should I record if I decide no action is needed?
Record what you asked, what the client said, what you weighed up, and why you decided no further action was needed, plus when you will check in again. The government's safeguarding advice specifically asks practitioners to record decisions not to share as well as decisions to share.
Sources
Checked on 30 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on a figure.
- BACP: Suicide prevention, including use of risk assessment tools — NICE NG225 recommendations 1.6.1 and 1.6.3, GPiA resources
- BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (2018) — points 9, 10, 30, 55 and 93
- BACP: Confidentiality and record keeping (GPiA 065, January 2024) — contemporaneous notes, police access, amendments
- UKCP Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (2019) — clauses 21 and 35
- National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society Code of Ethics — confidentiality; working with minors
- DfE: Information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services (April 2024) — consent, recording decisions
- NHS: Where to get urgent help for mental health
- ICO: Right of access detailed guidance — one-month deadline, amending data
This guide is general information about record keeping, not clinical, legal or safeguarding advice, and it is not a tool for assessing risk. Follow your professional body's guidance, your local safeguarding procedures and your supervisor's advice. If someone's life is at immediate risk, call 999.