Innovations in disaster mental health: Psychological first aid.
Abstract
Professional psychologists are called upon to deal with a broad array of crises and traumatic events. However, training and expertise in crisis response varies widely among practitioners, and there has been considerable controversy about the value of widely disseminated mental health crisis intervention protocols that include “debriefing” as an essential feature. This article gives an overview of the developmental process, guiding principles, and core actions of the Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide (PFA Guide), which provides guidance for practitioners in responding to immediate mental health needs of children, adults, and families who have recently experienced a disaster or terrorist event. Issues in training, provider self-care, and evaluation research are also presented. The PFA Guide presents approaches thought to be most consistently supported by current research and practice so that they can be taught, used, and evaluated in field settings. Although we expect further refinement as more systematic research becomes available, the PFA Guide represents a sustained collaborative effort to define current evidence-informed best practices that can be utilized now by practitioners involved in disaster mental health responses.
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Traumatic events can have profound effects on an individual's psyche and can be considered the cause of emotional upheaval and stress.
“The crisis literature posits that external reality, for example, traumatic events, can have profound effects on an individual ' s psyche, and can be considered to be the cause of emotional upheaval and stress (Vernberg et al., 2008).”
From Impacts of school shooter drills on the psychological well-being of American K-12 school communities: a social media study (2021) · cites this paper as Vernberg et al., 2008
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- Authors
- Vernberg, E. M., Steinberg, A. M., Jacobs, A. K., Brymer, M. J., Watson, P. J., Osofsky, J. D., Layne, C. M., Pynoos, R. S., & Ruzek, J. I.
- Affiliations
- University of Kansas (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (US)
- National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (US)
- Louisiana State University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 381-388
- ISSN
- 0735-7028 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1323
- OpenAlex
- W2047728626
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 17.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Professional Psychology Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network
- National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Disaster Response and Management
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
- Keywords
- psychological first aid, disaster mental health, crisis intervention, debriefing, post-traumatic stress, terrorist attacks, evidence-based practice
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