Module 5:

PFA Action Principles

and Key Components
I. PFA Action Principles
 PFA Action Principles
Prepare

Look Listen Link

 Before conducting PFA, it is
A. Prepare important to learn the following:

a. Crisis Event

What happened? When & where it 
took place?  Who and how many
people are likely to be affected? 
 Before conducting PFA, it is
A. Prepare important to learn the following:
b. Support Services
 Who is providing the basic needs (food, 
water & shelter), emergency medical 
care and tracing family  members?
 Where & how can people access those se
rvices?
 Who else is helping? Any community
members involved?
 Before conducting PFA, it is
A. Prepare important to learn the following:
c. Safety Concerns
 Is the crisis over or continuing? 
 What 
dangers may be in the environment (reb
els, landmines or 
damaged infrastructure)? 
 Are there areas to avoid entering 
because they are not secure or because
you are not allowed to be there?
Once you are well prepared,
follow the
3 “L” of PFA
A. Look
A. Look
 Crisis situations can change rapidly.
What you find at the scene may be
different from what you learned
before entering the crisis situation.
Therefore, it is important to take
time – even a few moments – to
“look” around you before offering
help.
A. Look
 If you suddenly find yourself in a
crisis situation without time to
prepare, this may be just a quick
scan.
 These moments will give you a
chance to be calm, be safe and think
before you act.
 See the following table for questions to
consider and important messages as you “look”
A. Look around you.
A. Listen
B. Listen
 Listening properly to people you
are helping is essential to
understand their situation and
needs, to help them to feel calm,
and to be able to offer appropriate
help.
 Listen with your:
B. Listen
Eyes = giving the person
your undivided attention

Heart = with caring and

showing respect

Ears ›› truly hearing their

concerns
 Helping people to be calm
B. Listen The following are some techniques to help very
distressed people to feel calm in
their mind and body:

 Keep your tone of voice calm and soft;

 If culturally appropriate, try to maintain
some eye contact with the person as
you talk with them;
 Remind the person that you are there
to help them. Remind them that they
are safe, if it is true.
 Helping people to be calm
B. Listen If someone feels unreal or disconnected from their
surroundings, it may help them to make contact
with their current environment and themselves.
You can do this by asking them to:
 Place and feel their feet on the floor.
 Tap their fingers or hands on their lap.
 Notice some non-distressing things in their
environment, such as things they can see,
hear or feel. Have them tell you what they
see and hear.
 Encourage the person to focus on their
breathing, and to breathe slowly.
C. Link
C. Link
People may feel vulnerable, isolated or
powerless after a distressing event. In some
situations, their daily life is disrupted. They
may be unable to access their usual
supports, or they may find themselves
suddenly living in stressful conditions.
C. Link
Linking people with practical support
is a major part of PFA. Remember that PFA
is often a one-time intervention and you
may only be there to help for a short time.
Affected people will need to use their own
coping skills to recover in the long term.
C. Link

Help people to help themselves

and to regain control of their
situation.
II. Ending the PFA Relationship
II. Ending the PFA Relationship
If appropriate, explain to the
person that you are leaving, and if
someone else will be helping them from
that point on, try and introduce them to that
person. If you have linked the person with
other services, let them know what to
expect and be sure they have the details to
follow up.
II. Ending the PFA Relationship

No matter what your experience has been

with the person, you can say goodbye in a
positive way by wishing them well.
III. The 7 Components of PFA
 Before you start

• Before offering • The current details and facts about the

PFA , it is pandemic
important that
you have • The relevant current local and national advice,
accurate guidance and instructions.
information &
What services are available for what kinds of
keep yourself
support – medical treatment, transport,
updated – learn
medical, financial, childcare, how and when
about:
they should be accessed
 Before you start

• Before offering • The range of reliable and accurate

PFA , it is resources for support and sources of
important that information that are available, particularly
you have online
accurate
information & Know when, how, why and where to access
keep yourself additional wellbeing supports for those who
updated – learn need it
about:
 Key Component 1: Care for
Immediate Needs for Safety

First identify if there are any immediate needs, like for

1 medical treatment, medication, food, communication
or accommodation

Clarify each need by talking it through, considering

2 what assistance might help
 Key Component 1: Care for
Immediate Needs for Safety

Develop an action plan together based on what

3 resources are available, collaborating with people to
enable them to make their own decisions

Finally, support people to put this plan in to action,

4 where possible supporting them to experience
success
Key Component 2: Protect from
Further Threat & Distress

Ensure immediate physical safety, including medical

1 care, supervision of children and those unable to take
care of themselves.
Provide accurate situation information. Be accurate
and honest in the information you provide. Avoid
2 speculation, if you do not know the answer to a
question, say so
 Key Component 2: Protect from
Further Threat & Distress

Attend to physical comfort. Make sure people have

3 access to a safe and comfortable environment .

Recognise the needs of vulnerable groups and protect

4 people from additional trauma and reminders
 Key Component 3: Comfort and
Consolation for people in distress

1 Be respectful

2 Listen in order to help people feel calm

Offer support to people who are distressed

3 or grieving
 Key Component 4: Provide Information
and Support for Practical Tasks

This may involve supporting people with their medical

1 needs, financial needs, childcare, or with funeral
arrangements.

Make sure people are informed where and how to

2 access services, especially vulnerable people
 Key Component 4: Provide Information
and Support for Practical Tasks

Support people’s resilience and sense of control when

possible, to generate their own solutions:
3 • Clarify options and describe what may happen.
• Ask which option they think is best for them.
• Help make an appointment if necessary
 Key Component 5: Provide
Information on Coping

Providing people with information and strategies that

1 will reduce their distress and promote coping.

Helping to promote effective coping is an important

2 step in helping people adjust to what has happened
and plan for the future.
Key Component 6: Connect with
Social Support

People recover more quickly when they are connected

1 to family and friends

It is especially important in the context of social

distancing to support people to connect with their
2 natural support networks, including their loved ones,
friends and communities.

3 Community online resources can also be important.

 Key Component 7: Educate and
Normalise Responses

Key messages:

It's normal for people to have strong emotions in an

1 emergency situation

Psychological reactions to an emergency can be best

2 understood as the reactions of normal human beings to
sudden, unexpected and unpredictable threats.
 Key Component 7: Educate and
Normalise Responses

Key messages:

3 Intense emotions will come and go.

People will have a range of reactions, and need to

know that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to think,
4 feel and respond. These can include: (See next
slide)
 Normal Normal
Features of Pandemic Environment emotional cognitive
responses responses
Uncertainty of the situation and about the future, Distress – Distraction,
Ongoing frequent and significant changes to our Anxiety Loss of focus
lives, Perceived threat Euphoria
Sense of unfairness, Uncertainty of the situation, Distress – Anger Irritability
Ongoing changes to our lives , Perceived threat Dark Humour

Loss – of previous lifestyle, of relationships and Sadness, Guilt Feeling slow

contacts, of employment, sometimes of loved Grief, Shame Confusion
ones
Loss of sense of control over own world and life Zoning out, Shut down
shutting down, Lack of
shock, numbing, responses
Physical
reactions like
pain
Thank you!
References:
NHS Education for Scotland, n.d., Psychological First Aid, viewed 29 September 2020,
https://estss.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-19-Psychological-First-Aid_NHS.pdf

World Health Organization, 2016, Psychological First Aid for All, viewed 29 September 2020,
https://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/ppt.pdf

Schafer A., Snider L., Ommeren M., 2016, Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers,
viewed 29 September 2020,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
308917842_Psychological_First_Aid_Guide_for_Field_Workers_English