Practical First Aid for Survivors

PFA: Practical First Aid

• Humane, supportive, and practical assistance to those who have experienced a serious stressor.
• Focuses on non-intrusive, practical care, and support.
• Assesses needs and concerns
• Helps people to address basic needs such as food and water.
• Encourages listening without pressuring people to talk.
• Reassures survivors that their reactions are normal
• PFA is NOT professional counseling, clinical or psychiatric intervention, or "psychological debriefing".

Helping Survivors

• The task of helping survivors is difficult, but mental health workers make significant contributions to recovery.
• Helping interventions are best understood in the context of when, where, and with whom they take place.
• Emergency interventions on-site focus on providing a safe and secure base for survivors to regain equilibrium.
• Three weeks following the disaster, interventions are educational and exploratory, aimed at increasing awareness of the biopsychosocial impact of the event.
• Six months later, interventions in clinical settings may include formal assessment and treatment protocols.
• A supportive, compassionate, and nonjudgmental exchange can help survivors feel connected to societal values of altruism and goodness.

Debriefing

• Debriefing is not intended to resolve psychopathologies or personal problems that existed before the traumatic incident.
• Debriefing usually takes 2 to 3 hours, longer durations may indicate problems such as:
  • A very traumatic incident.
  • Too much time spent on the fact and thought phases.
  • Inexperience or unfamiliarity with the debriefing process.
  • Poor team leadership.
• Debriefing is not indicated in the following situations:
  • After routine events.
  • In the absence of a mental health professional.
  • If too much time has passed since the traumatic incident.
  • Mediating management-employee conflicts.
  • As a substitute for psychotherapy.

Triage

• The majority of survivors experience normal stress reactions.
• Some may require immediate crisis intervention to manage intense feelings of panic or grief.
• Signs of panic include trembling, agitation, rambling speech, and erratic behavior.
• Signs of intense grief may be loud wailing, rage, or catatonia.
• In such cases, attempt to quickly establish therapeutic rapport, ensure the survivor’s safety, acknowledge and validate the survivor’s experience, and offer empathy.

Acute Care

• Survivors who require immediate crisis intervention can be helped by your presence.
• Provide comfort, establish a compassionate “presence," and reassure the survivor that their reactions are normal.
• Apply stress management techniques.
• Provide medication if appropriate and necessary.
• Ensure the survivor’s safety and acknowledge and validate their experience.

Timing

• Schedule time for post-debriefing discussion with a co-debriefer.
• Review confidentiality and explain group rules.
• Depending on the number of workers, introductions may include name, role, hometown or vicinity, and whether or not they have had experience with debriefing

Week 11: Helping Organizations

• Five key steps to organizational disaster mental health consulting:
  • Initial entry and contact
  • Introductions
  • Consultant’s inquiries about perceived organizational needs
  • Administrator’s expectations of mental health services
  • Consultant’s description of potential mental health services
  • Mutually agreed upon plan about how to get started.

Emergency Plan

• Review and update the emergency plan regularly.
• Evaluate resources and identify potential hindrances to implementation.

Staff Screening

• Offer screening for staff who are primary, secondary, or tertiary victims of the disaster.
• This includes staff whose work area has been relocated, new hires, or those with pre-existing health and psychological issues.

Manager Support

• Encourage managers to understand the impact of the disaster on their staff.
• This includes:
  • Identifying staff with safety concerns.
  • Recognizing employees with injured relatives.
  • Addressing employees who have had to relocate.
  • Monitoring any increase in work-related accidents.
  • Evaluating escalating tensions among employees or departments.
  • Assessing changes in work productivity.

This quiz covers the principles and practices of Practical First Aid (PFA) aimed at helping individuals who have experienced crises. It highlights the importance of humane support, addressing basic needs, and encouraging normal reactions without pressuring survivors. Perfect for those looking to understand the basics of providing effective support in emergency situations.