SAFETY, FUNCTION, ACTION: Psychological First Aid Training

Course Description:

Psychological First Aid is an evidence-informed modular approach to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism. Psychological First Aid is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning and coping. This Psychological First Aid (PFA) model was developed by professionals based at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, and funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This model continues to undergo extensive peer review from national and international disaster behavioral health experts.

Target Audience:

SAFETY, FUNCTION, ACTION: Psychological First Aid Training is designed for public health professionals and heath care professionals with disaster response roles. Community preparedness and response partners, especially first-responders (emergency management/EMS/fire/rescue/law enforcement personnel) and behavioral health professionals will find this course particularly relevant.

•  State and/or Local Public Health Workers
•  Bioterrorism Coordinators
•  Public Health Leadership
•  Public Health Nurse
•  Emergency Management
•  Healthcare Professionals
•  Hospital Administrator/Management
•  Public Information Officer
•  Law Enforcement
•  Health Sciences Students
•  Business and Civic Leaders

Course Content:

1.  Disaster Behavioral Health: An Ecological Perspective
2.  SAFETY, FUNCTION, ACTION: A Framework for Organizing Psychosocial Support and Intervention for Disaster Survivors
3.  PFA Skills Training Workshop 
     a. Overview of Psychological First Aid 
     b. Preparing to Deliver Psychological First Aid
     c. PFA Core Strategies
          1.    Preparing to Deliver Psychological First Aid 
          2.    Contact and Engagement
          3.    Safety and Comfort
          4.    Stabilization
          5.    Information Gathering: Current Needs and Concerns
          6.    Practical Assistance
          7.    Connection with Social Supports
          8.    Information on Coping
          9.    Links with Collaborative Services 

Strengths of Pyschological First Aid:

1.      Psychological First Aid includes basic information-gathering techniques to help providers make rapid assessments of survivors' immediate concerns and needs, and to implement supportive activities in a flexible manner.
2.      Psychological First Aid relies on field-tested, evidence-informed strategies that can be provided in a variety of disaster settings.
3.      Psychological First Aid emphasizes developmentally and culturally appropriate interventions for survivors of various ages and backgrounds.

Course Objectives:

• Define Psychological First Aid.
• Identify the evidence-informed principles of Psychological First Aid.
• Identify the elements of disaster response that provide psychological support and enhance resilience for disaster survivors using the SAFETY, FUNCTION, ACTION paradigm.
• Demonstrate the intervention strategies of Psychological First Aid.
• Identify individual and organizational strategies to enhance provider care during disaster response.

Program Agenda:

Course Faculty:

James M. Shultz MS, PhD
Director, Center for Disaster & Extreme Event Preparedness (DEEP Center)
Co-Director, Miami Center for Public Health Preparedness
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Andrea Allen, PhD, LMHC
Consultant, Barry University

Susan Schmitz, MA
Sr. Research Associate I, Center for Disaster & Extreme Event Preparedness (DEEP Center)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Sponsors:

Sponsored by the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

PFA Flyer
PFA Appendix
Training Schedule - Public Health
Training Schedule - Hospital
Handouts