A nurse is caring for a client who has agreed to a verbal safety contract following a self-mutilation attempt. Which of the following behaviors indicates that the contract has been effective?

Introduction: A safety contract (or "no-harm contract") is a collaborative agreement where a client commits to refrain from self-injury and to seek help when urges occur. The effectiveness of this tool is measured by the client’s ability to utilize communication as a primary coping mechanism rather than resorting to impulsive self-destructive behaviors. A. Displacement is a defense mechanism where emotions are transferred to a less threatening target. While delaying an action is better than acting immediately, the goal of a safety contract is active communication and emotional processing with the current care team, rather than simply waiting for a specific provider. B. The hallmark of an effective safety contract is the client’s proactive communication. By notifying the nurse of the urge to self-harm, the client is demonstrating the use of a healthy coping strategy and adherence to the agreement. This allows the staff to implement therapeutic interventions before the client acts on the impulse. C. Going to a room alone when overwhelmed is a form of social withdrawal and can be dangerous for a client with recent self-mutilation history. Isolation increases the risk that the client will act on self-harming urges without supervision. A more effective behavior would be seeking out staff or engaging in a milieu activity. D. Suppression involves the conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or feelings. While it can be a temporary coping strategy, long-term suppression of anger or pain often leads to an accumulation of emotional tension that may eventually result in an impulsive act of self-harm, rather than therapeutic resolution.