Community-Based Psychological First Aid: A Practical Guide to Helping Individuals and Communities during Difficult Times

Community-Based Psychological First Aid: A Practical Guide to Helping Individuals and Communities during Difficult Times presents a practical method for helping those in need in difficult times. No advanced training in psychology is needed to use it.

Injuries from disasters, terrorist events, and civil unrest are not just physical. These events also cause psychological trauma that can do lasting damage. Psychological First Aid (PFA) draws on human resilience and aims to reduce stress systems and help those affected recover. It is not professional psychotherapy, and those providing this kind of aid do not need a degree to help. Gerard Jacobs has developed this community-based method of delivering PFA over 20 years and has taught it in over 30 countries.

Along with the easy-to-follow method, Jacobs includes examples of how this works in action in different situations, and presents scenarios to practice. Unique in its approach of community engagement to train community members to help each other, this guide is an excellent resource for local emergency managers to engage in whole community emergency management.

Presents a proven method for helping to alleviate the mental health effects of disasters, terrorist attacks, civil unrest, and other community stressorsOffers a community-based model developed and taught by an international expert for over 20 years, requiring no advanced training or education in psychology to useProvides techniques that are adaptable to individual communities or culturesOutlines practices for self-care while helping others to prevent burnoutIncludes case studies, scenarios, and key terms to help facilitate community training

Chapter 1:  What is Community-Based Psychological First Aid, and What It Is Not
Chapter 2: Providing PFA
Chapter 3: Traumatic Stress
Chapter 4: The Stress of Disasters
Chapter 5: The Stress of Terrorist Events
Chapter 6: The Stress of Civil Unrest
Chapter 7: Individual Differences in Responses to Stress
Chapter 8: Active Listening
Chapter 9: Problem Solving
Chapter 10: Coping With Stress
Chapter 11: Providing Instrumental (Practical) Assistance
Chapter 12: Loss and Grieving
Chapter 13: When and How to Refer
Chapter 14: Privacy and Ethical Considerations
Chapter 15: Taking Care of Yourself While You Support Others
Chapter 16: Children and Traumatic Stress
Chapter 17: Vulnerable Adult Populations and Traumatic Stress
Chapter 18: Closing Thoughts
Appendix: Community-Based Adaptation of PFA