Course Description

Course Description:

The Office of Health Emergency Preparedness (OHEP), in partnership with the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the SUNY New Paltz Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH), has developed a revised curriculum in Psychological First Aid (PFA). PFA is an evidence-informed approach that provides staff with practical methods to help people with their basic needs and immediate concerns during, or in the aftermath, of an emergency. It is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning and coping.

Course Objectives:

In this four-hour training, participants will learn PFA and how to teach the curriculum to staff at their job site or agency on how to recognize and respond to early stress reactions among individuals impacted by a traumatic event or disaster.

Faculty:

Karla Vermeulen, Ph.D., Deputy Director—Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz