Do you know what is psychological first aid?

[begum01]

It’s basically a psychological invention to use during and after a traumatic event such as accidents, disasters or terror attacks. The aim of this aid is to educate people about acute stress symptoms, and provide normalization of the process and stabilization. By the 8 steps of the psychological first aid, facilitating to going back to the normal life before the event and the protection of the people who experienced the tragic events is aimed.

1)Contact and engagement:

In this step first aid provider make a contact with the person who experienced the traumatic event

The aim of this step is make a contact and understand the needs of the the traumatic event victim.

2)Safety and comfort:

For this step it should be known that giving priority to the physical and psychological safety is crucial

3)Stabilization:

After ensure the safety, the goal in this step is to calm the person. Because of the traumatic event some people may experience intense emotions. Therefore, for stabilizing the person, psychological first aid provider may use grounding* techniques to help to remain in the present

4)Information gathering:

In this step purpose of the psychological first aid provider is that ask and learn the needs of the person who experienced the trauma. It could be physical, social or psychological.

5)Practical assistance:

The person who experienced the trauma may not care of him or herself, so psychological first aid provider should examine some problems and offer some practical assistance such as making phone calls, completing paperworks

6)Connections with Social Supports:

In this step psychological first aid provider make an assistance to the person experienced the trauma and try to connect him or her with their beloved ones

7)Information on Coping:

After ensuring the physical and emotional stability, in this step psychoeducation plays a role, by this step the information about the event is given effective coping and appropriate functioning is aimed

8)Linkage to Collaborative Services:

The psychological first aid provider could not respond all the needs, so as a last step make a connection with collaborative services could be practical

*For example, say the name of 5 things you see around, 3 things you hear,…

[xHoneyxBeex]

Yes, I had to learn about it in my Master's of Social Work program. It's a therapeutic intervention used by social workers and counselors to assist people following a crisis or traumatic situation. It can help improve coping and therefore, reduce the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

[Subarugirl]

Good tips for anyone who has experienced a traumatizing event.

[Anonymous]

Never had these when i needed it the most.

As a result I'm taking these every night. 2 years now and still going. Serotonin Antagonist and Reuptake Inhibitor.

[smølf]

Yes, that is a good summary of psychological first aid. The 8 steps you mentioned are a widely recognized framework for delivering psychological first aid.

[MarkGW]

Yes, I do. Psychological first aid (PFA) is a technique used to provide immediate assistance to individuals who have experienced a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, accident, or violent attack. PFA aims to reduce distress and promote resilience in the immediate aftermath of a crisis.

[Sleeper07]

I always thought a good slap in the face would be psychological first aid. Or shaking the person while yelling at them to snap out of it.

[Guy13]

What or who is the fundamental and theoretical underpinning for this approach?

[AngryCarl2]

I think it's called counselling. Most of us don't get it until we have a full blown neurosis.

[Subarugirl]

Oh called having a good support system of friends or family

[AngryCarl2]

@Subarugirl Yes, that would be nice.

[strateguy632]

very good presentation

[Agape93]

Never heard of it.