Psychological first aid is necessary in different situations. For example, they are necessary when a disaster occurs, when a person is the victim of an atrocious event, or when an uncontrollable crisis arises. As with physical first aid, it is advisable to know the basics of emergency psychological care.
Clearly, mental health professionals are trained to provide psychological first aid in a more specific sense, however sometimes the situation requires speed and the psychologist may take a while to arrive, so it is so important to have elements to know how to act.
? Know how to plan, and provide to protect?- Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba-
Psychological first aid is designed to reduce emotional distress caused by traumatic events, help humans rediscover their ability to face the facts, provide initial support so that the experience does not become devastating
To provide psychological first aid to someone who needs them, it is necessary to know the five principles on which these types of interventions are based, of course, should only be performed if there is no competent professional nearby, but, in any case, they are valid to put a limit on the traumatic effects of the person concerned, these five principles are:
Just as there are defined protocols for the provision of physical first aid, there are also ways to follow in case of psychological emergency, the measures to be taken have not been arbitrarily established, they are the result of the experience of professionals who have dedicated their efforts to study the effects of different types of emergency response, we present the following protocol :
Psychological first aid helps ensure that a crisis situation has no more serious effects than those that have already been performed. Its main task, without a doubt, is to get the interested party to be assisted by a professional. His work is limited to a “in the meantime”, so it must be executed and understood. The key is to serve as a liaison.