Following shootings, free trainings focus on a vital type of first aid anyone can do 

You may not have heard the term before but if you ve ever checked in with someone after a traumatic event you ve provided a part of psychological first aid M Healthcare Fairview presented a two-hour training session Tuesday for teachers youth leaders and region members to learn strategies to encouragement people affected by traumatic stress The event was in response to the Aug shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and Church in which two children were killed and others including three adults were injured Psychological first aid was conceptualized after as a locality intervention tool following traumatic events Though regular stress is a part of everyday life traumatic stress comes from facing or witnessing a situation where your own or another person s life or well-being is threatened Minnesota s own model for psychological first aid was launched in by the Minnesota Department of Soundness in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita mentioned Christina McCoy manager of district fitness equity initiatives at M Fitness Fairview and one of the leaders of Tuesday s training at the Fairview Neighborhood Fitness and Wellness Hub in St Paul Everybody in the room had already applied psychological first aid but just didn t call it that McCoy disclosed of the participants several of whom worked with children and survivors of domestic violence Putting a name to it I think gives it power Related Sandy Hook parents offer population encouragement plan advice after Annunciation shooting There are five strategies to providing psychological first aid The first is to focus on immediate safety meeting someone s basic requirements with immediate support The next step is to comfort the person without asking for too multiple details Then focus on connection specifically connecting the person to society members and organizations that can help Throughout all measures way of life should be considered For example it may not be culturally appropriate to touch someone to provide comfort or it may be disrespectful to refer to an older person by their given name To make sure psychological first aid is culturally responsive disclosed McCoy Fairview trains members and public leaders of various cultures to provide this assistance to their peers A fourth step is to provide the person with self-empowerment by helping them determine what is in their control and to plan for what comes next Lastly psychological first aid includes promoting hope while still validating feelings of pain and hopelessness in the moment Any adult can sign up and take this training mentioned Emily Carpenter Fairview s public partnerships manager Fairview offers a one-hour training for teenagers to provide aid to their peers as well as trainings in Spanish and Somali Self-guided training is also available via downloadable apps including ones from the University of Minnesota and the Department of Veterans Affairs Both McCoy and Carpenter have seen how using the pillars of psychological first aid can benefit well-being Before working at M Vitality Fairview McCoy was a staff member at Brittany s Place a shelter in St Paul for girls and young women who have been sexually trafficked and or exploited Our girls were triggered very easily They had just experienced traumas like you could not even imagine Every day we would have what I would call an explosion McCoy commented Staff members also experienced trauma both from witnessing people being triggered and helping them after the incidents Using the pillars of psychological first aid helped McCoy give staff members time to process their own trauma so they could be in a position to come back and be healthy and be able to help the young women Psychological first aid while helpful is not a replacement for care from a mental fitness provider If someone is harming themself or others or has withdrawn to the point where they can t care for themselves or their dependents it is necessary to refer them to a mental wellness professional Carpenter announced Even if someone can t access mental strength care afterward due to finances or other reasons psychological first aid still has long-term benefits Related How new funds could broaden the arrangement of BIPOC mental wellness professionals As you work through the pillars you work more towards that long-term well-being noted Carpenter You start with What do you need right here and now safety comfort those connections and then you move into that self-empowerment and hope So even if there are walls to access more of that specialty or necessary care beyond psychological first aid I think that this is already moving them into a better spot The intended outcome is to help someone move forward by increasing their resilience What can also increase resilience however is the act of learning how to provide this first aid We re offering an opportunity for people to be proactive disclosed McCoy to build up their own resilience and put them in a position where they feel like they can respond when the next tragedy happens in our region because with the times we live in it will happen Being able to offer this really helps build that confidence The post Following shootings free trainings focus on a vital type of first aid anyone can do appeared first on MinnPost