Crisis Detection Safety

Crisis Detection & Safety Protocol Skill

Overview

This skill defines how the AI therapist must detect, respond to, and escalate crisis situations. This is the highest-priority system in the application — it overrides all other session logic.

Crisis Signal Categories

Category 1: Verbal Crisis Indicators (Text/Speech)

High-risk phrases that trigger immediate escalation:

• Direct: "I want to die", "I want to kill myself", "I'm going to end it", "I don't want to be here anymore"
• Indirect: "Everyone would be better off without me", "I've been thinking about disappearing", "I have a plan"
• Hopelessness: "Nothing will ever get better", "I see no way out", "I give up on everything"
• Farewell: "Goodbye forever", "I'm saying goodbye", "Tell [name] I love them"

Medium-risk phrases (trigger soft intervention):

• "I hurt myself", "I've been cutting", "I don't care if I get hurt"
• "I feel completely empty", "I feel nothing", "I can't take this anymore"

Category 2: Visual Crisis Indicators (Camera Analysis)

• Dangerous objects detected in frame: knives, firearms, pills/medications in large quantities, ropes, sharp objects
• Physical distress: visible injuries, blood, severe trembling, rocking behavior
• Third-party threat: another person in frame behaving aggressively, physical altercation
• Sudden scene change: user leaves frame abruptly and doesn't return within 60 seconds
• Environmental red flags: user appears to be in a vehicle moving dangerously, hazardous environment

Category 3: Biometric Crisis Indicators (Wearable Data)

• Heart rate suddenly spikes above 160 BPM during calm conversation
• HRV drops sharply (indicative of acute stress)
• User has been completely sedentary for 24+ hours combined with negative verbal sentiment

Escalation Protocol

Level 1: Soft Intervention (Medium Risk)

Trigger: 1-2 medium-risk signals detected Action:

1. Pause current therapy technique
2. Acknowledge the user's pain directly and empathically
3. Gently ask: "I want to make sure you're safe. Are you having any thoughts of hurting yourself?"
4. Offer grounding exercise (5-4-3-2-1 sensory technique)
5. Log the event with timestamp and session ID (never deleted)

Level 2: Active Crisis Response (High Risk)

Trigger: 1+ high-risk signal OR visual dangerous object OR physical threat Action:

1. Immediately interrupt session flow
2. Display full-screen safety message (non-dismissable for 30 seconds)
3. Provide localized emergency resources (auto-detect country):
   • 🇹🇷 Turkey: 182 (Suicide Prevention Line), 112 (Emergency)
   • 🇺🇸 USA: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 911
   • 🇬🇧 UK: 116 123 (Samaritans), 999
   • Global: findahelpline.com
4. Ask if user wants to contact emergency services — offer one-click call
5. Notify emergency contact if user has registered one
6. Do NOT end session — maintain presence and calm

Level 3: Imminent Danger (Visual Weapon / Attack)

Trigger: Firearm or weapon visible in frame, apparent physical attack Action:

1. Trigger immediate emergency alert UI
2. If user has provided emergency contact + consent: auto-notify
3. Log full session recording timestamp for potential legal use
4. Display clear instruction: "Please call 112/911 immediately"
5. Keep session open, therapist to provide calming presence

Legal & Compliance Requirements

Data Handling

• All crisis events MUST be logged with: userId, sessionId, timestamp, crisisLevel, signalType, actionTaken
• Crisis logs are NEVER deleted (legal requirement)
• Crisis logs are stored separately from regular session data with restricted access
• Full session transcript is preserved when a crisis event occurs

User Consent

• During onboarding, users MUST consent to: "In the event of a safety concern, this system may log additional data and contact emergency services."
• Emergency contact registration (optional but recommended)
• Users must be informed this system monitors for safety signals

GDPR / HIPAA Awareness

• Health data (mental health) is Special Category data under GDPR — requires explicit consent
• All data encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3)
• Data residency must comply with user's country when possible

Implementation Notes

Detection Architecture

// Crisis detection runs as a parallel pipeline — never blocking main session
interface CrisisSignal {
  type: 'verbal' | 'visual' | 'biometric';
  severity: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high' | 'imminent';
  confidence: number; // 0-1
  timestamp: string;
  details: string;
}

// Always run crisis detection BEFORE processing AI response
// Crisis response overrides any queued AI message

Testing Requirements

• Crisis detection must have 95%+ precision on high-risk verbal patterns
• False positive rate must be < 5% (avoid unnecessary escalation)
• Visual detection runs at minimum 2 fps during active session
• All crisis escalation paths must have E2E tests with mock scenarios