KNH Mental Health staff receive Psychological First Aid (PFA) training in preparation for Disaster Management

By Yvonne Gichuru

Disasters take many shapes; human-made disasters resulting from human errors including industrial explosions or structure failures and natural disasters resulting from physical phenomena including earthquakes and droughts.

Other disasters classified as complex can include epidemics or armed conflicts. In whatever form, disasters disrupt communities and can take a serious toll on people, property, economies, and the environment.

As a result, the KNH Disaster Management Unit conducted Psychological First Aid training in disaster preparedness and management for mental health practitioners in the mental health department conference room.

The 4-day training that began on Monday, March 28th, 2022, was facilitated by the Kenya Red Cross Society Training Institute and comprised various KNH mental health practitioners such as psychologists, counselors, and nurses.

Psychological First Aid (PFA), is an initial disaster response intervention to promote safety, stabilize survivors of disasters and connect individuals to help and resources needed. It is delivered to affected individuals by mental health professionals and other first responders.

“When a crisis happens or a disaster hits, people rush to address physical injuries and forget about the emotional and psychological effects of the disaster. People get traumatized and shocked and families also get separated to the point that their property gets destroyed. They need to feel supported and made to have a sense of belonging to encourage them and prevent deeper reactions that lead to mental health illnesses.” said Ms. Emily Gideon, Clinical Psychologist - Kenya Red Cross Training Institute and the lead trainer.

While disaster management cannot prevent disasters, it can prevent them from becoming compounded as a result of neglecting causal factors and manageable risks. Mitigation and prevention efforts can lessen the severity of a disaster’s impact therefore investing in measures that limit hazards can greatly reduce the burden of disasters.

Mr. Benjamin Koech, Health Information Officer and Secretariat – KNH Disaster Management Committee who was also a trainer emphasized the importance of psychological aspects of the disaster.

“We understand better what needs to be worked on and this training is an opportunity for us to learn how to assess the immediate concerns and needs of an individual in the aftermath of a disaster,” he said during the training.

“The purpose of PFA is to assess the immediate concerns and needs of an individual in the aftermath of a disaster, and not to provide on-site therapy. To better respond and cope with the immediate aftermath of a disaster, our main objective is to reduce the loss of life and livelihoods. If a disaster happens people need to be talked to and calmed down which is what we refer to as first aid in this sense. This includes the survivors and casualties of the disasters as well as their families. If that perspective