06 <strong>Psychological</strong> <strong>First</strong> <strong>Aid</strong>What is psychologicalfirst aid?<strong>Psychological</strong> first aidis a proven approach tohelping people affectedby an emergency, disasteror traumatic event.<strong>Psychological</strong> first aidis based on the principleof ‘do no harm’.It includes basic commonsenseprinciples of support to promote normalrecovery, such as helping people tofeel safe, connected to others, calmand hopeful, with access to physical,emotional and social support, and ableto help themselves 3 . <strong>Psychological</strong> firstaid aims to reduce initial distress, meetcurrent needs, promote flexible copingand encourage adjustment.<strong>Psychological</strong> first aid is useful asthe first thing that you might do withindividuals or families following a disaster.It is most widely used in the first hours,days and weeks following an event.<strong>Psychological</strong> first aid is based on anunderstanding that people affectedby disasters will experience a range ofearly reactions (physical, psychological,emotional, behavioural) that may interferewith their ability to cope 4 .3For more information see Hobfoll et al. 2007.4For more information see Brymer et al. 2006.These reactions are normal andunderstandable given people’sexperiences. In this situation, recoverymay be helped by psychological first aid.For a small part of an affected population,further support and mental health supportmay be necessary to assist recovery, butmost people recover well on their own, orwith the support of compassionate andcaring disaster workers, family and friends.While psychological first aid is mostcommonly used immediately after adisaster, its use is not limited to this timeperiod. Sometimes the first contactpeople have with psychological first aidcomes months or even years after theemergency. Outreach visits conductedby Red Cross nine months after the2009 Victorian bushfires, for example,was the first time many people receivedpsychological first aid. <strong>Psychological</strong> firstaid skills can also be applied to publicinquiries and anniversaries of emergenciesor traumatic events, all of which may takeplace years after the event.<strong>Psychological</strong> first aid has a longhistory 5 , but has become more popularfollowing research showing the dangersof critical incident stress debriefing 6 .Since 2002, psychological first aid hasbeen recommended as a key part ofthe provision of psychosocial supportfollowing disasters.5For more information see Drayer, Cameron, Woodward& Glass 1954; Raphael 1977a&b and 1986.6For more information see National Institute of MentalHealth 2002; Rose, Bisson & Wessley 2003; Bisson,Brayne, Ochberg & Everly 2007; Bisson & Lewis 2009.
<strong>An</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> 07“<strong>Psychological</strong> first aidis a human, caring andcompassionate responsethat addresses practicalneeds and concernsabove all else”