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Psychological First Aid (PFA)

Note: The PFA program was not responsive to the CEBC's inquiry. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources.

Topic Areas
Scientific Rating
Child Welfare Relevance
Trauma Treatment - Client-Level Interventions (Child & Adolescent)
NR  — Not able to be Rated
Medium

About This Program

Target Population: Children and adolescents in the immediate aftermath of a disaster or terrorism

Program Overview

PFA is a modular approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism to reduce initial distress and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning. It is for use by first responders, incident command systems, primary and emergency health care providers, school crisis response teams, faith-based organizations, disaster relief organizations, Community Emergency Response Teams, Medical Reserve Corps, and the Citizens Corps in diverse settings.

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Psychological First Aid (PFA).

Manuals and Training

Publicly available information indicates there is a manual that describes how to deliver this program, and there is some training available for this program.
See contact info below.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

The following studies were not included in rating PFA on the Scientific Rating Scale...

Cain, D. S., Plummer, C. A., Fisher, R. M., & Bankston, T. Q. (2010). Weathering the storm: Persistent effects and psychological first aid with children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 3, 330–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361521.2010.523063

The purpose of the study was to examine Weathering the Storm Psychological First Aid (WTS PFA) [now called Psychological First Aid (PFA)] on displaced children in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Participants received the WTS PFA intervention. Measures utilized include the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI), How Do I Cope With Things That Happen (KidCope), Youth Questionnaire (YQ), and a study-developed questionnaire on educational skills. Results indicate that mean posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores remained in the moderate range two years post-event. Postintervention scores reflect a statistically significant improvement in PTSD symptoms among the sample. Limitations include a lack of a control group, reliance on self-report measures, and small effect sizes. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.

Additional References

Pynoos, R. S., & Nader, K. (1988). Psychological First Aid and treatment approach to children exposed to community violence: Research implications. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1(4), 445-473.

Ruzek, J. I., Brymer, M. J., Jacobs, A. K., & Layne, C. M. (2007). Psychological First Aid. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 29(1), 17-49.

Contact Information

Melissa Brymer
Website: www.nctsn.org/content/psychological-first-aid
Email:
Phone: (310) 235-2633 x227

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: April 2025

Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: August 2016

Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: August 2016