Sheetal who had a highly demanding job, put in all her efforts to get her job done.  She set high standards for herself, did her work on time and felt like she did it well. Years went by in the company, she adapted to the job and even though she felt like she needed to grow, she was still happy with the job. One morning she got to office and was called into the senior manager’s office, who informed her that she was being laid off. 
 
Devastated, shocked and fearful of the information her manager broke to her. She sat at her desk not knowing what to do next and felt like there was nothing to life, as she was the only earning member in her family. While everyone was unsure of what to do, Anuj who was from Sheetal’s team made an attempt to observe the situation and prepared himself to help. 
 
He identified how he would start the conversation, what he could ask and what he could do. He made sure that Sheetal had space and asked her if she would like to talk. As there were chances of Sheetal not wanting to share what had happened or not being ready as well. When Sheetal started to talk, Anuj listened and gave her space to vent out her feelings and thoughts. 
 
Anuj took the time to identify appropriate steps to be taken and made Sheetal feel safe and comforted, despite how traumatic the situation was. Keeping in mind that something so disturbing needed support and attention, Anuj gave her space to break the news to her family members and then guided her to the outplacement services in the company. 
 
The steps that Anuj took, is known as psychological first aid. 
 
Psychological First Aid is a means of providing psychosocial support to individuals immediately after a disaster, traumatic event, or some other emergency. A person may experience distress at this time- shock, fear and anxiety. PFA is a set of helping actions undertaken to promote a feeling of 

• safety 

• calmness 

• self-efficacy (self-empowerment) 

• connectedness 

• hope 

 
What you can do? 
 
You don’t need to be a psychological expert to provide this first aid. The main skill is to be able to listen to a person without pressurizing them to talk. To make them feel comforted and safe physically and emotionally. 
  

• Assess and understand the situation and what has happened 

• Follow instructions of relevant authorities and don’t overstep others who may be helping 

• Do not immediately talk about the issue if the victim is not ready. 

• Be calm while talking to the victim in your tone of voice and body language. 

• Stay close to the person and promote hope. 

• Help them address basic needs, food, clothing, shelter, safety, 

• Help them connect with helpful resources- services, social supports 

 
We all would probably need psychological first aid at some point in our lives whether it is because of the loss of a job, loss of a loved one, natural disaster or anything else. Make the effort to reach out and make use of the resources you have. 

If you would like to discuss this further or need some help or support in this or any other area, our counsellors would be happy to help. 
 
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Call 1800-258-8999 / 1800-258-8121