First Aid for the Mind and Heart – By Jaanu

You’ve probably heard of first aid in the field. Our first responders are heroes who reach disasters first – the security of the public depends on our knowledge that there are EMTs and disaster responders who will be there in case anything should go wrong. But “physical” first aid is not the only kind of health-related disaster response!

Psychological first aid (PFA) is focused around mitigating acute psychological distress in disaster response. But what makes PFA important and relevant is that you don’t need special qualifications to be trained in it. Stacey Colino (first-aid writer and health specialist) puts it quite well when she says that “PFA [like regular first aid] is a way of helping someone in pain – except rather than cleaning or bandaging a cut or applying ice to a sprained ankle you tend to someone’s anxiety or distress in a way that will ease it and help restore a sense of equanimity.”

Physical first aid, or basic first aid, is of course the top priority in emergency – but psychological first aid comes next. Equip yourself to provide comfort and care if you need to; you can be trained in PFA today!

https://www.apa.org/practice/programs/dmhi/psychological-first-aid/training

The link above offers information on trainings! If you’re interested in PFA and would like to learn more, you can expect to see more emergency management information in Spirit coming soon 🙂