Psychological
First Aid
Research shows that any psychological intervention in a critical incident response should be delivered as part of a broader Critical Incident Stress Management system that has been drafted prior to the incident. According to evidence-based psychological best practice, the response to this scenario will require Psychological First Aid (PFA).
First Aid
Research shows that any psychological intervention in a critical incident response should be delivered as part of a broader Critical Incident Stress Management system that has been drafted prior to the incident. According to evidence-based psychological best practice, the response to this scenario will require Psychological First Aid (PFA).
- Promoting a sense of safety - both physical and psychological: e.g. “the site is safe now, you are not alone.”
- Promoting a sense of calm: e.g. “the danger has passed, support is here.”
- Promoting a sense of self or group efficacy: e.g. “you/we/our team has been through difficult situations before and supported one another to get through.”
- Promoting a sense of connectedness: “you are part of a team/group/unit who all pull together”
- Promoting hope: “we can get through this/story telling of past difficult events”
PFA involves the following actions: