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Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Maintain self-care
   • Awareness of the importance of self-care when helping others is recognised
   • Self-awareness and self-care are consistently maintained
   • Risk factors to wellbeing, including personal limitations, are recognised and addressed
   • Own strengths and weaknesses are acknowledged and support from others is accessed as required
2. Conclude the support
   • Professional boundaries are identified and adhered to
   • Services are delivered in a way that ensures equity and sustainability
   • Privacy and confidentiality are maintained according to organisation policies and procedures
   • People whose needs exceed own role and organisational resources are referred to another service
3. Prepare to engage in psychological first aid
   • Crisis event information is accessed and reviewed in preparation for support engagement
4. Personal physical and mental ability to assist is considered before engaging in providing psychological first aid
5. Potential safety and security aspects are identified and addressed before engaging with individuals impacted by an event
6. Roles and responsibilities of the agencies involved in disaster response and community recovery are identified and confirmed
7. Appropriate information on available services and supports are identified and provided to individuals impacted by an event
8. Identify potential distress reactions in a crisis event
   • Self-care and the care of others is identified and discussed with team members as necessary
9. A range of potential reactions from affected individuals are identified
10. Adverse psychosocial reactions associated with traumatic events areidentified
11. Support and assistance required to address potential distress reactions are identified
12. Individuals are referred to additional or specialised support services in a timely way
13. Determine who needs support
    • Appropriate self-introduction is made, including helper's name and organisation represented
14. Initial contact, rapport building and stabilisation techniques are used to determine support needs
15. Needs of those experiencing psychological trauma are identified, assessed and prioritised
16. Provide support to individuals impacted by a significant event
    • Communication techniques are used in a non-threatening, non-intrusive way that respects the individuality of the person in distress
17. Active listening techniques are used to communicate effectively with individuals who need support
18. Courtesy, consideration and sensitivity are applied at all times
19. Safety and security of self and clients is maintained
20. Connectedness with community and agencies is supported to ensure solutions are found to address immediate needs and problems
21. Basic client needs and access to the resources needed to cope with their situation are provided
22. Positive language is used and a strengths-based approach is adopted
23. Accurate and useful information is provided in a timely and appropriate way
24. Cultural needs of the individual are identified and support is provided in an appropriate manner by appropriate individuals
    • Awareness of the importance of self-care when helping others is recognised
25. Self-awareness and self-care are consistently maintained
26. Risk factors to wellbeing, including personal limitations, are recognised and addressed
27. Own strengths and weaknesses are acknowledged and support from others is accessed as required
    • Professional boundaries are identified and adhered to
28. Services are delivered in a way that ensures equity and sustainability
29. Privacy and confidentiality are maintained according to organisation policies and procedures
30. People whose needs exceed own role and organisational resources are referred to another service

Range Statement

Range is restricted to essential operating conditions and any other variables essential to the work environment. Non-essential conditions may be found in the PUA Public Safety Training Package Companion Volume Implementation Guide.

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Performance Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria on at least one occasion and include:

analysing and evaluating information communicating effectively with people impacted by the event determining and implementing response and support to meet needs of those seeking support locating, interpreting and providing information that addresses requests for support maintaining privacy and confidentiality managing expectations when providing services to people referring people to appropriate services seeking assistance and support from others when necessary to provide support using interpersonal communication skills working with organisational information collection techniques and methods working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and ensuring they are respected and communicated with sensitivity.

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Knowledge Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include knowledge of:

active listening causes of distress confidentiality as it applied to psychological first aid determinants of responses distress responses distressing events diverse cultural backgrounds elements of psychosocial support, including: ensuring safety instilling hope promoting calm promoting connectedness promoting self-efficacy and group efficacy ethical, legal frameworks, professional boundaries and standards factors that influence an individual’s responses to a crisis event grief, loss and trauma in psychological first aid how people respond interpersonal skills in crisis situations mental health and psychosocial support service interventions organisational professional standards principles of effective communication psychoeducation in own behaviour and feelings and those of other people psychological first aid across different kinds of crises psychological first aid principles psychological support services range of potential reactions individuals can display in response to a crisis event roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in disaster response and community recovery self-care techniques situational awareness.

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