What is Psychological First Aid?
When a child or adult is in the middle of a crisis, it’s not always helpful to unpack what’s going on and get into their current situation. People need to feel safe enough to unpack their trauma, and if they don’t, it can be more harmful.
What is psychological first aid?
According to the American Psychological Association, Psychological First Aid (PFA) is the first response in disaster intervention with a goal of promoting safety, stabilizing survivors of disasters, and connecting the survivors to resources and help. PFA is conducted by mental health professionals and other first responders. The purpose of PFA is to assess the immediate concerns and needs of an individual in the aftermath of a disaster, and not to provide on-site therapy.
Most first responders trained in psychological first aid will use the RAPID response. The RAPID response is the list of skills as follows: reflective listening, assessment, prioritization, intervention, and disposition.
Why use PFA?
In essence, PFA is built on the foundation of human resilience. It aims to reduce symptoms of stress and encourage healthy recovery following a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, public health emergency, or even personal crisis.
First responders and mental health professionals are encouraged to use PFA because emotional distress is not always visible like physical symptoms–but it can be just as debilitating.
While physical injuries are more obvious, it turns out that far more people will report psychologically-related complaints following a traumatic event. Physical first aid is used to ease physical discomfort caused by injury, while psychological first aid is used to reduce the painful range of emotions and responses experienced by people who are exposed to high stress situations.
What’s the difference between PFA and counseling?
Psychological First Aid differs from traditional therapy because it is not a professional mental health treatment, but instead a strategy to reduce strong emotional reactions to stress. Any first responder can administer PFA because it does not rely on direct services from mental health professionals, but rather on skills that most of us already have.
How can I use PFA?
If you have an opportunity to help calm and emotionally orient a person who has just experienced a traumatic event, use these tactics.
First, look for the warning signs for someone being disoriented or overwhelmed. These include looking glassy eyed and vacant, being unresponsive to questions, exhibiting strong emotional responses, searching frantically, or engaging in risky activities.
If a person is experiencing any of the above symptoms, respect their privacy and give them a couple minutes before you intervene. Let them know you’re available and you’ll be back in a few minutes to check in on them. In the meantime, look for family and friends that can help stabilize the individual.
Remain present and calm, try not to ask too many questions or it could overwhelm the individual and lead to cognitive overload. Offer your support and help the person focus on specific, manageable feelings and thoughts. Provide information that will help orient the individual to their surroundings.
If the individual is still extremely agitated after the above steps, try using “grounding” techniques.
Sit next to the overwhelmed individual in a comfortable position, and encourage them to breath in and out deeply and slowly. Ask them to look around and name five objects that do not increase stress levels. For example, “I see a shoe. I see a chair. I see a picture frame.”
Continue to breath in and out. Next, ask them to name five sounds that do not increase stress. For example, “I hear myself breathing. I hear a man talking.”
After more deep inhales and exhales, ask the person next to you to identify five non-stressful things they can touch. For example, “I can feel this floor. “I can feel my shoes on my feet.”
Encourage them to keep breathing in and out deeply. If these grounding techniques do not work, consult with a medical or mental health professional.
Resources for PFA from the APA:
Caring for yourself while caring for others during the pandemic: Self-care and stress inoculation
Factsheet on psychological first aid (PFA) for first responders
Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers (PDF, 1.42MB)
Psychological first aid for youth experiencing homelessness (PDF, 1.50MB)
Psychological first aid for healthcare professionals (PDF, 671KB)
Listen, protect, and connect: Family to family, neighbor to neighbor (PDF, 2.1 MB)
If you or someone you love has experienced a traumatic event and needs help, please reach out to us. Our team of therapists is here to provide support and guidance. We look forward to connecting with you.
