The purpose of Psychological First Aid (PFA) is to assess the immediate concerns and needs of an individual in the aftermath of a disaster, and not to provide onsite therapy. We are not looking to provide therapy in the PFA process, although that is not to say that we will not make a referral to somebody who might be providing therapy.
That is also not to say that you are not someone who does provide therapy in the community that you might get a referral from. But when we talk just about PFA, PFA does not include therapy because it is focused more on the immediate needs of individuals during a disaster.
Dr. Jennifer Carlson, Ph.D., CEM®, LCSW, is a New England emergency management expert, facilitator, speaker, trainer, university faculty member, writing professional, and author of Write Your Story: A Self-Start, Write Your Own Biography and Exploring the Professionalization of Emergency [Disaster] Management. For over 20 years, she has dedicated her life in service to the emergency management field, deploying on disasters from Hurricane Katrina to the Boston Marathon bombings through the American Red Cross and the State of Massachusetts. She currently works as a professor with Anna Maria College and has worked as faculty and teaching staff for emergency management courses, workshops, and Homeland Security content at MIT for FEMA, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Eastern Kentucky University, and at other locations across the country while deployed. Jennifer serves as the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Co-Chair for the Higher Education Academician Caucus and on the Scholarship Commission Nominations Task Force with IAEM. Jennifer also serves with the Department of Defense as the Affairs Director for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in Massachusetts and reviews journal articles for the Journal of Emergency Management.
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