Psychological First Aid: An Australian Guide

An Australian Guide 17What psychologicalfirst aid isn’tIt is important to clarify what psychologicalfirst aid isn’t, and to differentiate it fromearlier forms of post-disaster support,most notably critical-incident stressdebriefing. Psychological first aid is:• NOT debriefing• NOT obtaining details of traumaticexperiences and losses• NOT treating• NOT labelling or diagnosing• NOT counselling• NOT something that onlyprofessionals can do• NOT something that everybody whohas been affected by an emergencywill need.Post-emergency settings are not clinicalenvironments and it is inappropriateto conduct a clinical or psychologicalassessment within the setting.It is important to limit contact at thispoint to simple support, as outlinedby psychological first aid. Peoplewho display marked signs of risk (e.g.suicidal tendencies) should be referredto formal mental health services.It is not useful – and may be harmful –to directly encourage a disaster survivorto discuss their responses initially.If a person wants to discuss theirexperiences, it is useful to provide themwith support but only in a way that doesnot push them to discuss more thanthey want 13 .13For more information see Watson et al. 2002;Ruzek et al. 2007; McNally, Bryant, & Ehlers 2003.