SIPI: a digital signaling plan for early crisis recognition

Developed by PPC Pittem, SIPI brings the early warning plan off the page and into everyday life. It turns it into a digital tool people can keep close and continue to use, making early warning easier to maintain in day-to-day life.

What is SIPI?

A crisis rarely develops without warning. In many cases, it is preceded by a period of rising tension, inner unrest or a growing sense of losing control. That is precisely why early warning matters. When people learn to recognise those signs, they can respond earlier. That principle sits at the heart of SIPI.

SIPI turns the early warning plan into a digital tool that stays close at hand and fits more naturally into everyday life. It encourages users to pause at regular moments, notice signals, follow changes over time and reflect on what may help next. By scoring their signals, users gain a clearer picture of how things develop over time. This makes patterns easier to recognise and helps them reflect more consciously on what is helping, what is becoming more difficult and what kind of support may be useful at that point. Notifications and overview screens help keep the early warning plan active in daily life, rather than allowing it to fade into the background.

Why SIPI was developed

The early warning plan is a valuable tool. In paper form, however, it has not always been easy to keep going in practice. Regular scoring takes effort. It is forgotten, postponed or avoided. That is often where its value begins to slip away.

SIPI was developed with that reality in mind. The app aims to make early warning more accessible and better aligned with the way people live and work today. Not by replacing the plan, but by bringing it closer. Making it more practical. More personal. Easier to sustain.

How SIPI works

SIPI builds on the familiar framework of phases, signals and actions. Users can personalise their own warning signs, triggers and helpful steps. Notifications help build regularity. Daily and monthly overviews make change over time easier to see. The app is designed to adapt to the person using it and leaves room for individual use.

That personal aspect is essential. People do not experience tension in the same way, and what helps one person may not help another. SIPI therefore does not impose a standard route. Instead, it offers a flexible tool that can be used in a way that reflects individual needs.

During an inpatient stay, the app can be used in collaboration with a member of staff. Afterwards, SIPI can continue to offer a point of reference, helping people monitor signs and keep supportive actions close to everyday life.

What practice shows

SIPI asks something of the person using it. Taking time on a regular basis to reflect on tension and emotion is not easy or automatic. SIPI is not about recording things quickly. It is about noticing what is really happening, learning to recognise signals and understanding how tension builds over time. That is where the strength of the app lies. People who score regularly are more likely to notice patterns sooner and respond earlier.

The difference also becomes clear in support and treatment. The early warning plan is no longer just a yellowing sheet of paper on the fridge. The threshold becomes lower. The plan stays closer to the person. And when something is no longer working, it becomes easier to adjust. In that way, early warning becomes more than a good intention. It stands a better chance of becoming part of everyday routine.

What SIPI is not

SIPI is not a control tool. The app only has value when it remains rooted in dialogue, trust and the user’s own sense of agency. Equality within that relationship remains essential.

SIPI does not replace human contact either. It is not there to take over communication, nor should it. What SIPI does do is make signals, experiences and changes over time more visible, so they can be discussed more openly in support or therapy. That is where SIPI finds its real place. Not as a substitute for the therapeutic relationship, but as a support to it.

What SIPI can add

SIPI can help people notice signs of tension earlier, make developments over time more visible and keep personal actions close to everyday life. For some, the main added value lies in regularity. For others, it lies in the overview, the sense of recognition, or the ability to adjust what helps and what does not.

Within PPC Pittem, SIPI is now well established and has become a valued part of practice. At the same time, the app has been designed in a way that allows for wider use beyond PPC Pittem.

Download SIPI

The SIPI app is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play.
Please note that an access code is required to use the app.

Contact

Would you like to explore what SIPI could mean in your setting, or discuss how it works in practice?