What is Psychological First Aid/ how to provide psychological support to suffering human,/ Aim of psychological first Aid/ support

 Psychological First Aid

       

PFA is a humane, supportive response to a fellow human being who is suffering and who may need support. It is an acute intervention of choice when responding to the psychosocial needs of children, adults, and families affected by disaster and terrorism. It is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster immediate and long-term adaptive functioning and coping. Or Psychological First Aid (PFA) consists of a systematic set of helping actions aimed at reducing initial post-trauma distress and supporting short and long-term adaptive functioning

 When PFA can provide: 

• PFA is aimed at people who have been recently affected by a crisis event. You can provide PFA.
• when you first have contact with very distressed people. This is usually during or immediately after an event.

Who benefits from psychological first aid?

        The sudden, disruptive nature of emergencies means that people will be exposed to uncertainty and stress. People will experience different degrees of distress. Any person in distress should have access to psychological first aid, where possible. This includes adults, adolescents, and children, as well as disaster relief workers and first responders. How people respond and cope depends on a variety of factors, including their experience of the emergency, their health, their personal history, and their available supports. Some people may be at more risk of negative consequences. These may include those people who:

• have had previous traumatic experiences

• have underlying mental illnesses

• were exposed to events where the horror element was high

• thought they were going to die

• experienced traumatic bereavement

• have had serious losses of property, livelihoods, or disruption to communities and networks.

        There will also be some situations where people have an immediate need for more care than can be provided by psychological first aid. These people need to be promptly referred to specialized support. This includes people who are: 

• seriously injured and needing emergency medical care

• so distressed that they are unable to perform the basic activities of daily life

• threatening harm to themselves or others.

        It is important to remember that not everyone who experiences an emergency will have emotional distress or problems during or after the crisis. Not everyone who experiences a crisis will need psychological first aid. Some protecting factors include:

• good level of functioning

• social support

• ability to cope

• strong moral belief systems

Psychological first aid is:

• NOT debriefing

• NOT obtaining details of traumatic experiences and losses

• NOT treating

• NOT labeling or diagnosing

• NOT counseling

• NOT something that only professionals can do

• NOT something that everybody who has been affected by an emergency will need.

• returning to normal life (i.e. reducing disruption).

Where PFA can provide:

       PFA is designed for delivery in diverse settings. PFA can provide;

• in shelters

• field hospitals

• camps, acute care facilities (emergency departments),

• respite centers for first responders or other relief

• workers, crisis hotlines, feeding locations, family reception and

• assistance centers, homes, businesses, schools, evacuation centers

• and other community settings.

        PFA should only provide where there is a private setting so that individuals can share their problems easily. It is important for respecting the person’s respect and dignity. An example might be when talking to someone who has been raped. However, there may be ethical or cultural reasons why you need to be careful about talking with someone alone in a private space. For example, be careful about real or perceived exploitation or abuse of anyone especially children in a private space. 

Behavior toward participants:

• Be friendly, warm, relaxed, and calm to engage participants. 

• Demonstrate good verbal and non-verbal communication skills, to convey interest and 

• enthusiasm with your words and body language.

• Demonstrate positive regard, respect, and non-judgment.

Goals of psychological first aid:

1. recovery by helping people to identify their immediate needs and their strengths and abilities to meet these needs. One of the most important research findings is that a person’s belief in their ability to cope can predict their outcome. Typically people who do better after trauma are those who are optimistic, positive, and feel confident that life and self are predictable, or who display other hopeful beliefs

The goals of psychological first aid include efforts to:

• calm people

• reduce distress

• make people feel safe and secure

• identify and assist with current needs

• establish a human connection

• facilitate people’s social support

• help people understand the disaster and its context

• help people identify their own strengths and abilities to cope

• foster belief in people’s ability to cope

• give hope

• assist with early screening for people needing further or specialized help

Aim of PFA

        The aim of psychological first aid is humane, caring, and compassionate. It addresses emotional and practical needs and concerns above all else. An important aim of psychological first aid is to build people’s capacity to recover. Psychological first aid supports

• promote adaptive functioning

• get people through the first period of high intensity and uncertainty

• set people up to be able to recover naturally from an event

• reduce the risk factors of mental illness as a result of the event, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.