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Guide] was created by collaboration between the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN),

the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and DMH providers. The intended purpose of

the guide was to address the need for a common disaster mental health response method that was

order to meet survivors’ needs within a chaotic environment. To further complicate the matter, training
opportunities are limited by time and financial resources. This makes it difficult for agencies to decide if, when,
and how to offer DMH trainings amongst mental health professionals’ other required trainings. Despite best
intentions, DMH trainings may feel brief, piecemeal, or untimely.

The PFA guide and dissemination efforts

The Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide, 2nd Ed. [Psychological First Aid (PFA)

developmentally sensitive, evidence-informed, could be widely implemented, 6 and could be used by 7

manytypesofproviders. Specifically,thePFAGuideconsistsofeightCoreActionsthatcanbeusedas

needed during disaster response: (a) Contact and Engagement, (b) Safety and Comfort, (c)

Stabilization, (d) Information Gathering, (e) Practical Assistance, (f) Connection with Social Supports,

(g) Information on Coping, and (h) Linkage with Collaborative Services. Further detail regarding the

7–9

as a free download (http://www.nctsn.org/content/psychological-first-aid), and daylong trainings

are becoming more widely available due to train-the-trainer efforts by the NCTSN. Supplemental

training materials also exist, including a free, interactive, online training (http://learn.nctsn.org/

course/category.php?id=11) and an instructional video series, Responding to Crisis in the

Aftermath of Disaster (http://learn.nctsn.org/login/index.php). Finally, several translations (e.g.,

Spanish, Italian, Chinese) and system-specific adaptations of the PFA Guide (e.g., the Medical

Reserve Corps, religious professionals, and schools) have been published. A more in-depth

approach to PFA dissemination and training is also available in the form of an NCTSN Learning

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content of the PFA Guide is available.

PFA dissemination efforts have typically been broad and low cost. The PFA Guide is available

Collaborative Model.
impact of these efforts on PFA use is unknown.

Although avenues of potential access to PFA training have increased, the