4 principles for providing psychological support in emergencies

At any moment, whether we are psychologists or not, we may find ourselves in a situation that requires our intervention. For example, we can find ourselves in a difficult situation in many different situations, such as an accident on the road or an incident on a tour.

In another article by Psychology and Mind already talked about the role of psychology in emergencies and disasters, and today we are going to delve into some practical keys to help people in need, regardless of whether we are mental health professionals or not.

Humans are social beings and, especially in the summer season, we move from one place to another enduring high temperatures and it is more likely find ourselves in situations in which we must attend and help, within our possibilities, another person or family who has suffered an incident.

General principles for giving psychological help

With this purpose and without the intention of delving deeper, given that the bibliography is extensive, I intend to summarize in four basic principles the keys to provide psychological support to someone who needs it.

Based on my experience in both the social and health fields, which has involved care in emergency situations and emergencies or in other cases in contexts of high emotional tension, there are a series of steps that coincide in all the references bibliographies on emergencies that, I consider, are key to carry out a first attention before the teams attend specialized. These premises will serve as a guide for you and the people you serve, and will facilitate security, emotional ventilation and relief to the people we will serve.

These principles will follow the pre-established order, and I will elaborate with an example a posteriori: the first thing is to give notice by calling emergencies, they will give us guidelines that will allow us to analyze the situation before approaching and introduce ourselves. Once we are in front of the people we want to help, we will introduce ourselves and inform us that we have called emergencies and that specialized help is notified and is on its way. Finally, we will listen and facilitate emotional expression by staying by your side until help arrives, if it is within our means.

I am going to detail each of the steps so that it is easier to understand what we should do in case someone needs our psychological and emotional support.

1. Give the emergency notice

A no-brainer, perhaps, but its importance and the need for it to go to point 1 is totally unquestionable.

Even so, I was surprised to hear stories of people who "had not fallen" in calling the emergency room. Fortunately, thanks to social and media awareness, the 112 telephone line and the rest of emergency operations are the best known and almost everyone rushes to alert emergencies when something happens. accident.

The variety of situations that we can find ourselves is wide: car accidents, floods, fires, the elderly alone and disoriented or children. We can also witness situations of violence (street, partner abuse, family, or others), hear screams or people shouting for help, and a long etcetera.

In these situations you always have to call emergencies, and the professionals who will answer your call are the ones who will assess the seriousness of the situation and what devices to send to the area (ambulance, fire brigade, police, etc.). Today, everything is centralized and we only have to describe what we see during the call.

2. Analyze the situation and approach wisely

During the emergency call, The operator will make us observe and ask us about the location and type of situation to find out what is happening.

For example, if someone faints in front of us, they will ask us if he is conscious, if he is breathing, etc. These same questions will guide us on what will happen a posteriori, and the operator itself will give us safety instructions (for example, if there is an accident, it will recommend where to stand to avoid problems) and will inform us of the approximate delay time.

3. Present, inform and guide

It is crucial to introduce ourselves. Approach the affected person in a calm way and tell them what we are called, who we are and why we are there. For example: “Hello, my name is Maria. I have seen your motorcycle on the road and I have given the emergency notice ”. And ask him his name, remember that he is a person and the presentations humanize us.

At this point, informing her of the situation is key, disinformation distresses people who are in a situation of this type. You will only have to tell him what you have been transferred when you have given the notice and when it will take, trying to influence positive language using terms such as "soon" since the person who is the victim of the situation will already be very distressed. We can promote calm with some phrases, such as “I already warned and the ambulance is already on the way. They also told me that it is better not to move, they will soon arrive ”.

It is important that you control your tone of voice and your non-verbal language; stay in their field of vision, with eye contact when you speak or speak to you, ask before touching the person if they want you to help them and do not invade their vital space if they do not give you permission. Your role is not to replace the sanitary technicians, It is about the person being comfortable and accompanied until then.

Once informed and oriented, we can say something to comfort the injured person or in problems, such as that we will wait with her and be interested in her state, which would already be the phase 4.

4. Listen and facilitate emotional expression

Take an interest in what has happened, facilitate their emotional expression and stimulate their dialogue. With that you ask and do not interrupt when I explain you and remain receptive with a state of active listening It's enough.

You can, if you are comfortable at some point, paraphrase / recap to give feedback that you understood it to situate it and mitigate its anguish, using her own terms, for example: “What you are telling me is that you hit that tree from the right side of the motorcycle". Even when the technicians come, paraphrasing will help you remember information to pass on to professionals, if the person is unconscious or too dazed to speak.

If you verbalize or externalizes emotional expressions such as crying and he is ashamed, you should support that feeling and facilitate its expression, with phrases such as "it is normal for you to feel this way, you have had an accident, but the ambulance is on the way."

During the wait, stay accessible, applying active listening. If you are receptive you will even be able to detect and observe needs that are not verbalized and facilitate their expression.