Author: Ushna Nawaz
Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a service that is provided to a person facing a crisis. It is the first key recommended immediately after a crisis takes place. The World Health Organization model of PFA was developed by keeping in concern all the demographic variables. This model includes supportive, humane, practical, and culturally adaptable assistance to the living being that recently exposed to any crisis. PFA can be provided by anyone like your friend, colleague, or neighbor it is not compulsory to be a professional mental health practitioner to serve PFA in an emergency.
In early time, PFA was mostly provided in
person that is slow and costly especially in situations where a large number of
people is affected e.g. major crisis like wars, natural disaster (such as
earthquakes), and harms like COVID 19 affected the lives of millions of people
around the world; in such situations, in-person services would not be enough
hence to overcome this issue WHO cooperated with government sectors and other
communication companies to convey digital training rapidly and effectively to
the entire population. In this way, many members of the general public can also
play their role and can help first-line health professionals.
Action principles of Psychological First Aid
There are three action
principles of PFA
- Look
- Listen
- Link
Look. Whenever you see someone in crisis try to
reach them but first make it sure that the surrounding is secure. Remember when
you are approaching someone stays calm and be respectful. First, ask the person
if he needs your help and if he allows then analyze the situation and decide
which thing to do first if there any urgent need required, tend to them first.
Listen. Listen to the person carefully and try to
identify the needs after listening speak calmly and try to use simple and
understandable words, give him information about the situation and if the
person asks any question you should answer that question but if you don’t know
the answer ask him to give you some time to find out and let him know as soon
as possible. To motivate the person to encourage him to be active and
appreciate his actions; moreover, keep it in your mind not everyone is on the
same boat some people are with different experiences so you should respect
their needs too e.g. if a person does not want to talk to you then you should
move back instead of insisting him to talk to you.
Link. Try to develop and maintain connections among
community, friends, and family and ask people to remain in touch with each
other. Make connections with other forums that can take part in resolving the
crisis; because we can do even better when we work together.
Core Principles for Crisis Intervention
Whenever crises
happen it left an impression on everyone. In this situation, the priority is to
protect the wellbeing of the living being and to provide them psychosocial
support. Every individual experience and perceives the same scenario
differently and try different means to deal with it. The nature of crisis or
disaster itself a huge factor but some other crucial factors can affect the
consequences such as it also matters if the person is having a pre-existing
psychological issue, socioeconomic status, and age (e.g. a child’s physical,
social, and emotional development is different from the rest of age so they
will have a different impact of the crisis in their lives). Due to this reason,
one should keenly observe to evaluate who is not recovering well and to specify
what sort of support they need.
Following are the core principles that can guide for
crisis intervention:
- Protect
and promote human rights and dignity
- Encourage
those who are well enough to participate including the youth and children
to overcome the problem
- Avoid
potential harm e.g. by not making someone dependent
- Take
the advantage of available resources and the resilience
- Provide
an integrated support system i.e. functional support (emotional support,
instrumental support, and companionship)
- Use a
multilayered support structure to advocate basic services that are safe
and socially appropriate and does not harm dignity. Promote community and
family support by activating social networks and engaging individuals with
family. Provide non-specialized care and specialized services where
required to the target population
- Moreover,
one should also take into consideration the facilitation of second social
provisions e.g. ensuring the person with a serious mental health condition
is referred to or getting appropriate services
Everyone should enjoy appropriate rights and facilities without
any discrimination especially in the time of crisis.
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