PTSD: National Center for PTSD
Stress First Aid: Manuals and Resources for Health Care Workers
Stress First Aid: Manuals and Resources for Health Care Workers
SFA for Self-Care and Peer Support
Stress First Aid (SFA) is a framework to improve recovery from stress reactions, both in oneself and in coworkers. The model aims to support and validate good friendship, mentorship and leadership actions through core actions that help to identify and address early signs of stress reactions in an ongoing way (not just after "critical incidents").
The goal of SFA is to identify stress reactions in self and others along a continuum and to help reduce the likelihood that stress outcomes develop into more severe or long-term problems. The core actions of SFA are appropriate for many occupational settings during critical events as well as for ongoing care. The manuals, trainings and resources below focus on health care workers; links to information about SFA versions specific to high-risk occupations like military, fire and rescue, law enforcement, and pretrial and probation settings are found under Additional SFA Versions and Manuals.
SFA Manuals and Workbook
- Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers Manual (PDF)
- Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers Workbook (PDF)
- Person-Centered Stress First Aid for Patients, Clients and Customers (PDF)
An SFA manual adapted for those in public health and health care settings who work with people affected by adversity.
For Health Care Workers: Training Materials and Other Resources
4 Hour Training
30 Minute Training
The SFA 30 minute training is suitable for any setting and is not limited to health care workers.
SFA Implementation Guide
The goal of this guide is to support people in implementing the SFA model in their organization.
- SFA Implementation Guide (PDF)
Example Videos
The videos below provide an overview of SFA and show examples of how to introduce SFA to others in your work setting. They illustrate how to provide core actions in work settings and how the need for core actions may present. Click a video to view or download.
An Update on How Mental Health Providers Can Care for Themselves and Support Colleagues During the COVID-19 Pandemic (MP4)
By Patricia Watson, PhD
PTSD Consult Lecture webinar
How Mental Health Providers Can Care for Themselves and Support Colleagues During the COVID-19 Virus Outbreak (MP4)
By Patricia Watson, PhD
PTSD Consult Lecture webinar
Caring for Yourself and Others During the Pandemic: Managing Healthcare Workers' Stress
By Patricia Watson, PhD.
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare webinar
Caring with Compassion: Supporting Patients and Families in a Crisis
By Patricia Watson, PhD and Richard Westphal, PhD, RN
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare webinar
Helping Those Who Serve: How Family Members and Friends Can Support Healthcare Workers During COVID-19
By Patricia Watson, PhD
Mental Health Forum Series webinar, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Early Intervention Following Disasters: Principles of Psychological and Stress First Aid (MP4)
By Patricia Watson, PhD
PTSD Consult Lecture webinar
Moral Injury in Vietnam Veterans
By Patricia Watson, PhD and LeAnn Bruce, PhD
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization webinar
For Friends and Family: Supporting Essential Workers in Extended Disasters or Public Health Crises (PDF)
Support from close family members and friends can be crucial for essential workers during long-lasting disasters or public health crises. This PDF discusses some practical actions that you can take to help a family member or friend deal with the stress they are feeling.
Grief: Different Reactions and Timelines in the Aftermath of Loss (Article)
After loss, there is no specific way of grieving that is right or wrong, and there is not a "normal" length of time to grieve. Learn about common grief reactions, the process of grieving over time and prolonged or complicated grief reactions that may benefit from mental health treatment.
Grief: Taking Care of Yourself After a Loss (Article)
There are many ways to take care of yourself when you are grieving. Learn about factors that may influence self-care strategies, challenges grieving death resulting from disaster or public health crisis and strategies noted by others to help reduce grief over time.
Grief: Helping Someone Else After a Loss (Article)
In the wake of loss, it can be hard to take care of those you care about who are grieving. There are many possible ways to offer support to someone who is grieving, and a variety of factors that affect how you can offer support.
For Leaders: Helping Employees in the Aftermath of Loss (Article)
Tips to help leaders support grieving employees through communication, flexibility and workplace policies.
Additional SFA Versions and Manuals
- Military: Combat Operational Stress First Aid Manual (COSFA)
- Fire and Rescue: Stress First Aid for Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services Personnel
- Forest Service: Stress First Aid for Wildland Firefighters
- Judicial System: Stress First Aid for the Streets for Those Who Work in Pre-Trial and Probation Settings
- Law Enforcement: Police Officer Toolkit - Stress First Aid Model
Author and Development Information
The Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers Manual and materials, developed by Patricia Watson of the National Center for PTSD and Richard Westphal of the University of Virginia, are adapted from the original Combat and Operational Stress First Aid (COSFA) Field Operations Manual, with input from SFA versions that were developed for Rescue and EMS, Wildland, Law Enforcement, and Pre-Trial and Probation settings.
The SFA for Health Care Workers Manual and materials may be copied and distributed without permission. It was produced using public funding and resides in the public domain, but the work of the authors is still protected. The authors request that any subsequent use of this material be given appropriate attribution and acknowledgment.
Citation
Watson, P., & Westphal, R.J. (2020). Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers. National Center for PTSD. Available on: www.ptsd.va.gov.
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