Practice · Full program
Psychological First Aid
- Mental Health, Wellbeing
- Children, Youth, Family
- Healthcare, Medical
- Community Development
- Aged Care, Disability
Practice guide for first-line psychosocial support in disaster and crisis situations drawn from World Health Organisation practical manuals..
Joining ShareCraft is free. We bring you straight back here.
- Free to licenseCreative Commons
- Field Guidechapters and guidance
- 18 resourcestemplates and tools
About this practice
What is Psychological First Aid?
Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a supportive and practical approach to helping people in the immediate aftermath of a serious crisis event, disaster, conflict, accident or emergency. It is the global standard for psychosocial first response in crisis situations, developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), War Trauma Foundation and World Vision International.
PFA is not counselling or psychotherapy. It is something anyone can learn: field workers, health workers, community volunteers, teachers, emergency responders and deliver safely and effectively with basic training.
What PFA Achieves
- Reduces acute distress and helps people feel calm
- Ensures basic needs (food, water, shelter, medical care, information) are identified and met
- Protects vulnerable people: unaccompanied children, elderly, people with disability, those at risk of violence
- Connects people to loved ones, social support and services
- Restores a sense of safety, agency and hope
- Supports natural recovery processes without imposing clinical intervention
The PFA Action Principles
PFA follows a simple, memorable framework:
PREPARE → LOOK → LISTEN → LINK
- Prepare: Learn about the crisis, available services and safety before entering
- Look: Observe for safety, urgent needs and people in serious distress
- Listen: Make respectful contact; ask about needs; listen without pressuring; help people feel calm
- Link: Connect people to basic needs, information, services and social support
A Unique Approach
PFA is grounded in five empirically-supported elements safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy and hope. Its strength lies in what it doesn't do: it never pressures people to talk, never forces emotional processing, never imposes help. It meets people where they are, in ways that respect their dignity and autonomy.
What's Included in this Practice Package
This ShareCraft practice package includes the complete WHO PFA Field Guide, 10 ready-to-use tools and templates (checklists, reference cards, evaluation forms, case logs, caregiver guides), and all CSV data for platform integration.
Evidence
PFA is recommended by WHO, the IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee), IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) and endorsed by leading humanitarian organisations worldwide.
Licence: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Based on WHO Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers and Facilitator's Manual (WHO, 2011/2013)
See it in action
Who it’s for
Any humanitarian, community, health or emergency response organisation deploying field workers to crisis-affected populations who need practical first-line psychosocial support skills.
Target population
People of all ages affected by crisis events natural disasters, conflict, accidents and emergencies including children, elderly, people with disability, and others who may need special attention. Delivered by field workers, community volunteers, health workers and emergency responders.
How it’s delivered
- One-to-one sessions
- Group work
- Outreach visit
- Structured Training
Share what works.
ShareCraft is where organisations in the social sector find, license and share practices that work. Join free to open this Field Guide.