Emergency Psychological Assistance

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Abstracts from the synopsis.

Emergency psychological assistance (hereinafter EPP) is provided to people who are experiencing an acute stressful condition. This condition is accompanied by emotional and verbal disorganization.

The main principles of EPC for people who have suffered psychological trauma:

1. Immediate PP, the more time has passed since the injury, the higher the likelihood of chronic mental disorders, including the so-called post-stress syndrome, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can last from several weeks to several years.

2. Proximity to the place of events. The provision of assistance is carried out in a familiar environment or in a familiar social environment, as well as in minimizing the negative consequences of hospitalization.

3. Expectation that normalcy will be restored. With a person who has undergone a stressful situation, communication occurs as with a normal person, and not as with a patient, and, in him, confidence is accumulated in the imminent return of a normal state.

4. Simplicity of psychological impact. It is necessary to remove the victim from the source of injury, provide a safe environment, provide food, drink and the opportunity to be heard.

EPG types

§ coordination - providing information and interaction with other rescue services;

§ practical - immediate emergency psychological help.

Emergency psychological assistance works on the principles of intervention in the superficial layers of consciousness, that is, it is working with symptoms, and not with syndromes.

Symptoms

Apathy - arises after a long stress, due to unsuccessful work, the inability to save someone, the loss of a loved one. In this case, a person does not have the strength to feel, move, talk, and if I do not support the person, then apathy can turn into a prolonged depression, which can be accompanied by feelings of guilt, not a desire to live, etc. Lasts from several hours to several weeks.

The main signs are:

§ indifference to the environment;

§ feeling very tired;

§ slow speech, with long pauses;

§ lethargy, lethargy;

§ a feeling of emptiness in the soul, dullness of feelings.

What to do:

§ If a person speaks, then we listen to him, ask specific questions: "What is your name?", "How do you feel?", "Do you want to eat?", "Do you want to drink?" (it is important to separate questions, and not mix, as in the example, separately - eat, separately - drink).

§ Organize a place of rest: allow to sleep or lie down, help to lie down, take off your shoes (required).

§ It is good to use body contact - to take by the hand.

If there is no way to rest, then talk more with the person, if possible, try to involve him in a joint business, drink tea with him or help someone.

Stupor - one of the strongest protective reactions of the body. Maybe after a strong shock - an explosion, an attack, violence, due to the fact that a person has spent a lot of energy on survival and there is no longer any strength for contact with others. It lasts from 1 minute to several hours, if a person is in this state for a long time, then severe physical exhaustion sets in.

The main signs are:

§ Numbness, freezing in one position, in a state of complete immobility;

§ Lack of reactions to external stimuli - light, noise, touch;

§ A sharp decrease in movements or complete absence, also applies to speech;

§ Tension of a particular muscle group.

What to do:

§ Work with human hands: bend the victim's fingers on both hands and press them to the base of the palm, gradually massaging. Thumbs should be pointing out;

§ Using the tips of your thumb and forefinger, massage the victim on the forehead, above the eyes, exactly in the middle between the hairline and eyebrows, clearly above the pupils;

§ Place the palm of your free hand on the victim's chest. Adjust your breathing to the rhythm of his breathing;

§ We speak with a person quietly, slowly, but clearly, in the ear with something that can cause strong negative emotions. A person in this state can see and hear and it is necessary by any means to achieve the victim's reaction, to bring him out of stupor.

Aggression - an involuntary way of the body to reduce internal stress. The manifestation of anger or aggression can persist for a long time and interfere with the victim himself and those around him.

The main signs are:

§ irritation, discontent, anger;

§ high blood pressure;

§ striking others around, the desire to fight;

§ abuse, swearing, verbal abuse.

What do we do:

§ to minimize the number of people around, remove spectators;

§ to give the victim an opportunity - to speak out or "let off steam", you can use this method: squeeze your hands in a fist in turn, for each squeeze, pronouncing a word, repeat several times. Then, join tense palms at chest level. After this exercise in the body, there should be no unpleasant sensations, if there is - repeat.

§ in no case do we accuse a person, do not blame him for aggression;

§ sometimes, aggression can be stopped through fear of punishment (extreme case).

Motor excitement. Sometimes the shock from a critical situation (explosions, natural disasters) is so strong that a person simply ceases to understand what is happening around him. He is unable to determine where the enemies are, and where are the helpers, where the danger, and where the salvation. A person loses the ability to think logically and make decisions, becomes like an animal rushing in a cage.

The main signs of motor arousal are:

§ sharp movements, often aimless and meaningless actions;

§ abnormally loud speech or increased speech activity (a person speaks without stopping, sometimes absolutely meaningless things);

§ often there is no reaction to others (to comments, requests, orders).

In this situation:

1. Use the "grip" technique: from behind, stick your arms under the arms of the victim, squeeze him towards you and slightly tip him over.

2. Isolate the victim from others.

3. Massage the "positive" points. Speak in a calm voice about the feelings he is experiencing. ("Do you want to do something to stop it? Do you want to run away, hide from what is happening?")

4. Do not argue with the victim, do not ask questions, in conversation avoid phrases with a particle of "not" related to unwanted actions (for example: "Do not run", "Do not wave your hands", "Do not shout").

5. Remember that the victim can harm themselves and others. * 6. Motor excitement usually does not last long and can be replaced by nervous tremors, crying, and aggressive behavior (see help for these conditions).

Aggression. Aggressive behavior is one of the involuntary ways in which the human body "tries" to reduce high internal stress. The manifestation of anger or aggression can persist for a long time and interfere with the victim himself and those around him.

The main signs of aggression are:

§ irritation, discontent, anger (for any, even insignificant reason);

§ hitting others with hands or any objects;

§ verbal abuse, abuse;

§ muscle tension;

§ increased blood pressure.

In this situation:

1. Minimize the number of people around you.

2. Give the victim an opportunity to “let off steam” (for example, to speak out or to “beat” the pillow).

3. Entrust him with work related to high physical activity.

4. Demonstrate benevolence. Even if you disagree with the victim, do not blame him, but speak out about his actions. Otherwise, aggressive behavior will be directed at you. You can't say: "What kind of person are you!" You should say: “You are terribly angry, you want to smash everything to smithereens. Let's try to find a way out of this situation together."

5. Try to defuse the atmosphere with funny comments or actions.

6. Aggression can be extinguished by fear of punishment:

§ if there is no purpose to benefit from aggressive behavior;

§ if the punishment is severe and the likelihood of its implementation is high.

7. If you do not help an angry person, this will lead to dangerous consequences: due to a decrease in control over his actions, a person will commit rash acts, may injure himself and others.

Fear. The child wakes up at night from the fact that he had a nightmare. He is afraid of the monsters that live under the bed. Once in a car accident, a man cannot get behind the wheel again. The earthquake survivor refuses to go to his surviving apartment. And the one who has been subjected to violence, with difficulty forces himself to enter his entrance. The reason for all this is fear.

The main signs of fear include:

§ muscle tension (especially facial);

§ a strong heartbeat;

§ rapid shallow breathing;

§ reduced control over their own behavior.

Panic fear, horror can prompt flight, cause numbness, or, conversely, excitement, aggressive behavior. At the same time, a person does not control himself well, does not realize what he is doing and what is happening around.

In this situation:

1. Place the victim's hand on your wrist so that he can feel your calm pulse. This will be a signal for him: "I am near now, you are not alone!"

2. Breathe deeply and evenly. Encourage the victim to breathe in the same rhythm as you.

3. If the victim speaks, listen to him, show interest, understanding, sympathy.

4. Give the victim a light massage of the most tense muscles of the body.

This material was collected by me from notes on the subject of Crisis Psychology for a memo in 2014.