The Breakdown: What is Psychological First Aid?
To understand the importance of mental health, it is first necessary to break down the differences between mental health and mental illness. The two are distinct: the former relates to overall psychological well-being, while the latter involves specific disorders affecting emotions, thinking, or behavior.
Through the increasing support on mental health awareness, implementing help such as mental health first aid for survivors after major traumatic events can become the norm.
Mental health first aid, or psychological first aid, acts as a crisis response intervention technique. First introduced after the 9/11 attacks, it has since emerged as a favoured method of early psychological intervention after disasters or major events.
When administering psychological first aid (PFA), the first-aider is usually the initial point of contact for the survivor, providing crucial early intervention to facilitate recovery and help reduce trauma-related stress.
Taking note of how crucial that initial contact is, it is equally important to identify the common signs of stress.
Using the A.S.A.P method helps first-aiders to provide aid in a clear, concise manner without overwhelming the survivor. By using these tools, first-aiders will be better equipped to provide PFA.
The Benefits
PFA is often misunderstood as being a form of therapy, causing some first-aiders to feel uncertain about providing aid if they are not medically trained.
If PFA-trained, they can provide the survivor a safe space for them to re-orientate after the traumatic experience. They can identify the person’s immediate needs and offer practical assistance, such as food, water or connecting them with trained professionals for further help.
Mr Girvan Tay, 24, took the PFA course as he was already learning physical first aid and wanted to know more about the psychological side of it.
He put his PFA skills to use during an incident where he had to calm a man in his 60s who was distressed after falling down at home. The man had a neuromuscular impairment and was unable to get up by himself, but refused to go to the hospital.
Using active listening and through providing emotional support, he eventually convinced him to seek medical help. Such events further prove the importance of psychological first aid, and its usefulness in everyday situations.
The Common Myths
With the emergence of PFA, some first-aiders have experienced concern with regards to providing mental health aid. Standard first aid is taught with the intention of providing physical aid during emergencies, so what does PFA provide?
One misconception is that it can only be performed by a professional, however PFA only needs the first aider to observe, listen non-judgmentally and serve as a link for early intervention. They can then refer the survivor to professional help if needed.
Some also believe that talking about mental health challenges leads to more people labeling day-to-day stressors as mental illness. PFA actually helps to increase knowledge and provide a common language to discuss mental health, rather than maintain the stigma that it should not be brought up or worse, is something shameful.
The Conclusion
Understanding the differences between mental health and mental disorders, and recognising the importance of good mental health is crucial in supporting PFA.
An increasing acceptance in psychological first aid will hopefully encourage more to deem it as a necessary response for survivors after traumatic events. It is clear that proper training can empower individuals to provide crucial support, counteracting myths and contributing to a more understanding acceptance of mental health.
References
Psychological first aid in community disasters, Drayer CS, Cameron DC, Woodward WD, Glass AJ. . JAMA 1954; 156:36
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