– The Church will have to initiate

everyone – priests, religious and

laity – into this “art of
accompaniment.”

– Evangelii Gaudium
What is PFA

– Psychological first aid (PFA)

describes a humane, supportive
response to a fellow human being
who is suffering and who may need
support. Aiming to stabilize, reduce
symptoms, and return the survivor
to functional capacity in the
aftermath of a critical incident.
 WHAT PFA IS NOT?

• NOT reserved only for mental

health professionals.
• NOT professional counseling.
• NOT “Psychological debriefing”
• NOT asking people to analyze what
happened or put order in events
• NOT pressuring people to talk
about their feelings and reactions
 PFA INVOLVES THE
FOLLOWING THEMES:

– providing practical care and support, which does not

intrude;
– assessing needs and concerns;
– helping people to address basic needs (for example,
food and water, information);
– listening to people, but not pressuring them to talk;
– comforting people and helping them to feel calm;
– helping people connect to information, services and
social supports;
– protecting people from further harm.
3 GOALS OF PROVIDING
PFA

1. Relieve both emotional and

physical suffering
2. Improve people’s short-
term functioning
3. Accelerate the individual’s
course of recovery
WHO IS PFA FOR? WHEN TO GIVE PFA?

– PFA is for distressed – Upon first contact with very

people who have been
recently exposed to a
SERIOUS CRISIS EVENT.
Help may be provided to
both children and adults.
distressed people, usually
immediately following an
event, or sometimes a few
days or weeks after.
 WHY PFA?
People do better on the long
term after the experience of
a crisis if they:
– Feel safe, connected to others,
calm & hopeful
– Have access to various support
(social, physical, emotional)
– Regain a sense of control by
helping themselves
WHERE IS PFA
PROVIDED?
– PFA may be offered
wherever it is SAFE
ENOUGH to do so.
– Ideally, PFA is provided
where there is some
PRIVACY to talk with the
person.
HOWEVER, PFA IS NOT
FOR:

Some people need much more advanced

support than PFA alone. They are:
– people with serious, life-threatening injuries
who need emergency medical care
– people who are so upset that they cannot care
for themselves or their children
– people who may hurt themselves
– people who may hurt others
EXAMPLES OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID

 Family support services

 Information support services
 Tracing services
 Reassurance
 Presence of crisis workers
 Rituals and other support structures
 Defusing
 Crisis management briefings
PREPARING FOR PFA
PFA ACTION PRINCIPLES
ROLES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
FIRST AIDER

1. Provide social support

2. Educate about normal and abnormal stress reactions

3. Teach stress management techniques

4. Mobilize community resources

5. Provide support and reassurance

6. Aid in accessing appropriate services

7. Undertake risk assessment to help prevent harm to self

or to others

8. Create a partnership and help find solutions

9. Assist in early detection and intervention

 DON’TS IN DELIVERING
PFA

1. Do not make assumptions (about what the survivors

are experiencing or what they have gone through).

2. Do not assume that everyone exposed to a disaster

will be traumatized.

3. Do not pathologize (do not label “reactions” as

symptoms).

4. Do not talk down to or patronize the survivor, or focus

on his helplessness/weaknesses, mistakes, disability.
Focus on what he has done effectively to help others.
 DON’TS IN DELIVERING
PFA

5. Do not assume that all survivors want to

talk or need to talk to you (being physically
present in a supportive, calm way helps
survivors feel safer and more able to cope).
6. Do not “debrief” by asking details of what
happened.
7. Do not speculate or offer possibly
inaccurate information (know the facts
before answering their questions).
 GUIDELINES FOR
DELIVERING PFA

– Politely observe first, don’t intrude (ask simple

respectful questions to know how you may help).
– Provide practical assistance to make contact (food,
water, blankets).
– Initiate contact only after you have observed the
situation, the person, the family.
– Be prepared that survivors will either avoid you or flood
you with contact.
– Speak calmly. Be patient, responsive and sensitive.
 GUIDELINES FOR
DELIVERING PFA

– Be prepared to listen. (focus on hearing what they want

to tell you, and how you can be of help)
– Acknowledge the positive features of what the survivor
has done to keep safe.
– Give information that addresses directly the survivor’s
immediate goals and clarify answers
– Give accurate and age-appropriate information
– When communicating with a translator, look and talk to
the client, not the translator.
– Remember the goal of PFA.
REMEMBER!

The main goal of PFA is

to help people help
themselves and regain
control of their
situation.
MAKING REFERRALS

Referral: The act of recommending that

a person speak to a professional who is
more competent to handle the
difficulties and complexities of his/her
needs.

• Referral may be necessary when the

stress reactions of individuals affected
by the disasters are causing
impairments (inability to take care of
 WHEN TO REFER

 When a person hints or talks openly of

suicide
 If there is a possibility of child abuse
or any criminal activity
 The problem is beyond your training
 The problem is beyond your capability
 The problem does not fit the purpose
of the community responder program
 WHEN TO REFER

 The person seems to be socially isolated

 You have difficulty maintaining real contact
with the person
 You become aware of dependency on alcohol
and drugs
 When the person is engaging in risky or
threatening behavior
 When you yourself become: restless, confused,
have negative recurring thoughts, dream about
the case and feel you are the only one who can
help
First Aider’s personality and
attitude should include:

–Empathy
–Warmth
–Respect
–Genuineness
–Unconditional positive
regard for the person
 Mind your non-verbal
actions
Open posture, avoid crossing your legs or
Open arms
Lean a little (enough to show you’re
Lean interested and concerned with the
person’s story)
Use Use eye contact
Relax, keep it natural and look friendly to
Relax the individual
Avoid showing shock, fear, disagreement
Avoid or judgment
Aware Be aware of your facial expression
Use active-emphatic
listening
Recommended questions or
statements:

– Use open ended questions to let the

individual talk about more the situation.
– Instead of cutting or abruptly ending the
conversation, slowly use close-ended
questions to transition to the end of the
conversation.
– You may use the following techniques to
make the individual feel you are listening
and interested wo what he/she has to say.
�False promises and reassurance
�Probing (if the information is not
necessary, there is no need to ask
the details about it)
�Judgmental statements or reaction
�Digression – to suddenly speak
about something that is different
from the subject matter of what
the individual is taking about AVOID the
�Unsolicited advices, especially
those that are different to the following:
belief of the person (e.g. strictly
religious in content,
discriminatory)
In Summary:
The First Aider should possess and incorporate the
following skills in practice:

1. Attending Behavior
2. Questioning
3. Responding
4. Noticing and Reflecting
5. Client Observation
6. Confrontation
7. Focusing
8. Education