Psychological First Aid Training FAQ
What is Psychological First Aid for Schools?
- Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) is an evidence-informed intervention model to assist students, staff, and families in the immediate aftermath of an emergency and can be used by any trained staff member or community partner.
- PFA provides emotional support and coping information to students and staff.
How is PFA different from our crisis team?
- Every district needs staff members who are trained to respond to hazards, threats and incidents.
- The goal of crisis response is to reduce distress and anxiety experienced by members of the school community when a crisis occurs.
- The PFA terminology comes through the federal Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) training. Each district needs one trained team to respond in a crisis and either name, PFA or crisis team, can be used by districts.
What kind of training is available for PFA?
- NDE provides PFA training that covers the 8 core actions of Psychological First Aid in three days of team training (Levels 1,2, and 3).
- NDE also provides two-day trainings for ESU’s in developing supports for their school districts.
- Training is based on the Psychological First Aid for Schools Field Operations Guide from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network National Center for PTSD.
What is the incident command system (ICS)?
- The use of ICS is required for all school districts receiving federal emergency preparedness funding.
- PFA training covers ICS and provides practice in applying ICS in scenarios.
How does PFA fit into the MTSS model?
