How safety works¶

Safety comes first¶

Alongside instructs the AI to share crisis lines first whenever someone mentions suicide, self-harm, harming others, abuse or feeling unsafe. See Crisis support and Help now.

On the PHQ-9, any answer above zero to the question about thoughts of death or self-harm triggers a safety check, whatever the total score.

What Alongside never does¶

It never diagnoses, and never tells anyone they "have" a condition. It doesn't provide treatment. It isn't an emergency service, and it isn't a replacement for a doctor or therapist.

About questionnaire results¶

A score is a prompt to talk to a GP or therapist, not a diagnosis. Only a clinician can say what it means for you. See Check-ins.