In about 2 weeks the whole world would be celebrating World Mental Health Day on October 10th. The World Federation for Mental Health initiated its first celebration in 1992 and has been an ongoing event ever since. It is an event that is celebrated not only by hospitals but also various organizations to help increase awareness about mental health, educate the public about mental health and promote advocacy.
Every year there will be a different theme for the day and this year the theme chosen is Dignity in Mental Health: Psychological First Aid (PFA). This theme is apt for this year with the many disaster that has been occurring globally and locally, for example the recent earthquake in Italy, the bombings ongoing in Syria and more recently Typhoon Meranti and Malaskas in Taiwan and many others crisis. Disaster or crisis can be due to natural disasters like floods, earth quake or manmade like war, civil unrest and riots. However, crisis can mean something eventful happening to your community and affecting your daily activities. The LRT being stalled, being involved in an accident or motor vehicle accident is also considered a crisis. When an incident occurs, our response would be to offer help. So how do we help?
Most of you are more familiar with physical first aid than PFA. When a disaster or crisis occurs, the physical aspect is most likely taken care of by disaster or rescue workers immediately. However the psychosocial aspect is often neglected or dismissed altogether. PFA is evidenced-based modular approach to assist children, adolescent ,adults and families in the aftermath of disaster. The theme for world mental health day this year emphasize the importance of PFA is same as physical first aid. Hopefully stigma related to seeking psychosocial help will lessen after this. In providing PFA you must respect the safety, dignity and rights whomever you are helping. In this context dignity means treating people with respect and according to their social and cultural norms.
PFA focuses on pragmatic psychological support and the beauty of PFA is it can be given by any trained disaster worker and not necessarily by mental health professional. As such this will help reduce the stigma attached to it. PFA is delivered by disaster response workers who provide early assistance and can also be delivered in aftermath of disaster. There are 5 steps in providing PFA Information, safety, basic needs, extended staff and identification of persons who are emotionally overwhelmed. Anyone who appears to be suffering from acute stress reactions or at risk for functional or mental health impairment is offered PFA. PFA is given to anyone affected by the crisis or disaster and not only to the survivors. It is also given to the disaster workers or those in a helping role during crisis.
PFA is part of long term effort to ensure that anyone in acute distress due to a crisis or disaster can receive basic support .The 3 basic principles in PFA Look , Listen and Link must be applied when carrying out PFA. From my personal experience in providing PFA during natural or man made disaster people are appreciative when offered help. They feel relieved when they’re is someone willing to listen to them and this is the same response from disaster workers. It might seem like a simple thing but listening and spending time with those with acute stress reaction can make a difference. Those individuals that requires more than PFA would be linked to agencies to receive more advanced health, mental health or social services. There are guideline made available by World Health Organization and Mental Health Unit , Disease Control Division , Ministry of Health Malaysia for reference .
http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/guide_field_workers/en/
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
~ Martin Luther King, Jr
Dr. Nazariah Aiza Harun is a Psychiatrist and currently a Trainee in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry based in a government hospital. She is a member of Malaysia Psychiatric Association ,Malaysia Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Association and Malaysian Advocates for Child Health.