Psychological First Aid - What is it and do I need it?

Introduction to Psychological First Aid

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a vital technique designed to help individuals build resilience and effectively cope with stress, loss, trauma, and grief. This evidence-based approach is invaluable not only in the aftermath of disasters and traumatic events but also in managing everyday stress and fostering personal and community resilience. PFA emphasizes the importance of anticipating stress and equipping oneself with essential skills for self-care and supporting others during times of crisis.

The Canadian Red Cross offers a comprehensive Psychological First Aid course that focuses on developing a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma, and grief on individuals. This course underscores the significance of self-care and personal protection, introducing the Red Cross LOOK, LISTEN, LINK, LIVE model. This model serves as a robust framework for building emotional, psychological, and social well-being, ensuring that learners are well-prepared to handle various stressors effectively.

Benefits of Psychological First Aid Training

Psychological First Aid training offers a multitude of benefits, including:

• Enhanced resilience and well-being

• Improved self-care and personal protection

• Increased ability to cope with stress, trauma, grief, and loss

• Better understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma, and grief on others

• Improved ability to support others during times of stress, crisis, or trauma

• Increased confidence in providing psychological first aid

• Complements existing workplace wellness initiatives

By enrolling in a Psychological First Aid course, individuals can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to provide psychological first aid in various situations, including mental health emergencies. The course is designed to be adaptable to all audiences, making it suitable for youth, workplace environments, and professional responders alike.

Real-Life Applications of Psychological First Aid

Psychological First Aid has numerous real-life applications, including:

• Disaster response and recovery

• Workplace wellness and employee support

• Community resilience and support

• School and academic settings

• Emergency response and crisis situations

• Personal and family support

In these scenarios, Psychological First Aid can be instrumental in:

• Providing immediate support and comfort to individuals in crisis

• Helping individuals cope with stress, trauma, grief, and loss

• Promoting resilience and well-being

• Supporting individuals in developing a personal self-care plan

• Enhancing community resilience and support

By applying the principles of Psychological First Aid, individuals can make a significant positive impact in their communities, helping others build resilience and effectively manage stress, loss, trauma, and grief.

Psychological First Aid

Mental Health First Aid Courses

Our health and wellbeing go beyond the physical aspects of ourselves. Mental health plays a role in our ability to participate in our communities. Mental health conditions can have a severe effect on all areas of our life including relationships at home, school and the workplace, our work performance and how we deal with stressful situations. While stress is normal, it is important to watch for severe reactions to stress which can cause a decline in our mental health stability. These extreme stress reactions can include:

• Headaches/Body pains and muscle tension

• Problems concentrating

• Mood swings

• Feelings of self harm or harm to others

• Change in appetite

• Alcohol or drug use

• Anger or frustration

• Guilt

• Sadness

• Fear or difficulty controlling feelings of worry

• Insomnia or feeling weak or tired

• Fixating on details

• Withdrawing from others

Stress reactions can linger for some time while we adapt to various situations; however, if these reactions persist or become worse it is important to seek help to protect yourself, your health and those around you. Developing positive coping strategies is key to focusing on the issue or problem and managing and reducing stress. These positive coping strategies are changes you make to your behavior and outlook to aide in overcoming personal issues or dealing with difficult situations. Effective health promotion including positive coping strategies is an integral part of resilience-based training which aims to equip individuals with skills to support themselves and others.

Training in Psychological First Aid helps to reduce stigma associated with mental health crises and can reduce negative health outcomes for individuals by promoting positive conversations about wellness.

What are the 5 Essential Elements Of Psychological First Aid?

 The goal of Psychological First Aid is to create and maintain an environment in which one feels:

1) Safety
2) Calm & Comfort
3) Connectedness
4) Self-Empowerment, and
5) Hope

Psychological First Aid reduces psychological distress by providing a caring, comforting presence, and education on common stress reactions. It empowers the individual by supporting strengths and helping build coping skills. It also provides avenues for support networks and referrals to professional services when needed. 

What are the 3 Main Steps of Psychological First Aid?

1. LOOK – Assess dangers and safety or security risks. Obtain information from those who need assistance.

2. LISTEN – Pay attention and listen carefully, determine immediate needs and offer help to the person in crisis. 

3. LINK – Make relevant information, services and supports available. Help to solve the problem(s).

Who Should Take Psychological First Aid?

Psychological First Aid is for anyone wanting to practice self-care or learn to care for others. Experts in the field maintain that the effect of psychological first aid is related to the extent to which it has spread throughout communities. The aim is to deliver psychological first aid training widely throughout communities that are vulnerable to disasters or hardship. The core components of community-based psychological first aid training include skills like:

• understanding traumatic stress

• active listening skills

• how to make referrals and when

• self-care

Psychological First Aid provides information and resources you can offer to someone to provide emotional support and practical help. There are many professionals who can offer help when someone is in crisis or may be experiencing the signs and symptoms of a mental illness or addiction. Providing the tools for people to assist others and themselves during emotional, social or environmental challenges  is the first step in creating environments that are healthy and supportive.

Which Course is Right for Me?

The Red Cross course we teach is offered in blended training format that includes a self-directed online component, followed by an in-person, facilitated workshop. Learners will develop a self-care plan through the self-directed online component and then apply the principles of self-care in a facilitated workshop led by an instructor. While mental health first aid programs teach how to help someone experiencing a mental health emergency, Red Cross Psychological First Aid is a resiliency-based program for everyone that offers prevention and coping strategies for dealing with different types of stress resulting from various types of trauma.

Click here for registration and pricing information à https://turnergroup.ca/collections/first-aid-courses/products/psychological-first-aid