Mental-health therapist Robin Chancer, and Taggart Long, Firefighter/Paramedic, will discuss mental health, first-aid and other intervention strategies based on research and real-world experience in helping traumatized victims.
You’re invited to attend: Sunday the 23rd @ 12pm East Standard Time. Join the webinar here.
Among the topics Robin and Taggart (Frontline’s training director) will cover:
• Robin will discuss research on trauma in the aftermath of 9/11. Specifically, she’ll focus on studies of those who participated in debriefing sessions right after a traumatic event (“critical incident stress debriefing”) and fared worse than those who did not. What we’ve learned from debriefings can inform how we respond to people undergoing a highly stressful event. The focus now is on “psychological first-aid” for victims.
• How to promote a sense of safety: initiate contacts in a non-intrusive, compassionate manner. Help the person become as safe as possible, and state as much.
• How to promote calming: comfort, grounding, stabilization.
• How to gather info on current needs and concerns
• Offer practical assistance, meet basic needs
• How to promote a sense of self-efficacy: offer positive coping ideas, notice things the person is doing or has done well.
• How to improve connectedness with activists: linking social supports & resources
• Instilling hope, protecting activists from further harm. Taggart and Robin will discuss particular struggles they’ve encountered among activists, including:
*elevated fear and stress associated with crackdowns on activists—fear of consequences
*handling trauma, unexpected injury (tear gas, violence, etc.) & intense emotions that may result
*managing anger, grief, disillusionment, emotional sustainability
*dealing with the stigma that surrounds mental illness, seeking help
Taggart and Robin will also cover strategies that increase chances of success as we intervene. Bedside manner matters. We begin with, “How can I help you today?”