Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 1.5 American Psychological Association (APA)
Stress First Aid (SFA) is a framework of functions that have been shown to be helpful in situations of ongoing adversity. It has been organized into both self-care / peer support and public-facing models. As self-care and peer support model, SFA comprises a set of supportive actions designed to help those in high stress jobs better care for themselves and assist each other in reducing the negative impacts of stress. This model recognizes that “critical incidents” are not the only stressors that professionals in high stress jobs face, and is therefore based on acknowledgement that stress can be ongoing and cumulative, resulting from multiple sources, and resistant to formal intervention for many reasons such as stigma, lack of time, and cultural factors. Therefore, SFA is designed to be attentive to multiple sources of stress, as well as being practical, flexible, and tailored to the specific styles and needs of those involved. Stress First Aid has also been versioned for first responders, healthcare workers, and crisis counselors who are supporting the public in crisis situations or in the context of ongoing adversity. This 90-minute SFA training will offer an overview of SFA components and discuss how it can be adapted and applied to work with those working in many settings.
Target Audience: For behavioral health/healthcare providers who treat military personnel, veterans, and their families.
Instructional Level: Introductory
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will be able to:
Appraise the basic foundation of Stress First Aid.
Differentiate indicators of significant stress
Incorporate basic SFA support actions into practice
This activity is approved for 1.5 continuing education credits (CEs)
The Center for Deployment Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
The Center for Deployment Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
| CDP Presents An Introduction to Stress First Aid - Slidedeck Handouts.pdf (3.8 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Clinician Corner SFA Watson Stresspoints (139.8 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Crisis Counselors Virtual SFA CM Manual for Customers and Clients (756.5 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| SFA HCworkers Manual NCPTSD (6 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers Workbook 2020 (853.2 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Dr. Patricia Watson, has been a clinical psychologist at the National Center for PTSD since 1998. Prior to that, she was an active duty Navy psychologist for 8 years. She got her doctoral degree from Catholic University, and postgraduate fellowship in pediatric psychology at Harvard Medical School. She has co-authored versions of Stress First Aid (SFA) for Navy/Marine Corps, Firefighters and Emergency Services Personnel, Law Enforcement Professionals, Wildland Firefighters, Healthcare Providers, Probation Officers, and Rail Workers. Other areas of work include disaster mental health interventions such as Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery, early intervention for traumatic stress, resilience, moral injury, military culture, & trauma in children and adolescents.
