Psychological First Aid

In unprecedented recommendations, The US Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization have both recommended that those who respond to disasters and crises receive training in Psychological First Aid (PFA). In addition, those in public health, first responders, first receivers, those in faith-based disaster relief, and all who seek to build community resilience are encouraged to receive training in PFA. As a parallel to physical first aid, PFA consists of behavioral and psychological interventions designed to: 1) stabilize acute distress, 2) mitigate distress and dysfunction, and 3) facilitate access to continued care as indicated. Research has shown that specialized training in crisis interventions such as PFA can double your clinical effectiveness!