Psychological First Aid: Objectives, Practicing, Vulnerable Groups and Ethical Rules to Follow

Abstract

Psychological first aid is an early psychosocial intervention approach which is applied during or after traumatic life events as disasters, accidents, terrorist attacks causing negative effects on individual and/or society. It focuses on determining basic physical and mental needs of individuals in major events. The main objectives of psychological first aid are giving psychoeducation about acute stress symptoms, supporting normalization of the process and stabilization, easing going back to normal life before the event, and protecting individuals from long term consequences of the traumatic event. In this review, the main objectives of psychological first aid, application process and research outcomes in different cultures are presented.