Stress First Aid (SFA) is a set of supportive actions designed to promote self-care and care for others, especially — but not exclusively — to those in high-risk, high stress occupations such as health care.
The Stress First Aid model has been adapted for use by the National Center for PTSD and was developed by Patricia Watson of the National Center for PTSD and Richard Westphal of the University of Virginia. The overall goal of SFA is to identify and reduce the negative impacts of stress before that can harm a person's health and well-being.
At Sharp HealthCare, SFA has been an adopted practice that all employees are encouraged to understand in order to:
Help protect ourselves and each other from long-term, harmful effects of stress
Reduce the stigma often associated with mental health
Create a common language for all of us to address stress
Recognize the relationship between our own well-being and the well-being of our patients and community
Help all of us understand how to support each other and care for ourselves
About the SFA model
The SFA model includes seven elements (known as the seven Cs), each one of them serving a different purpose in lessening the impact and duration of stress:
It's important to note that not all stressful events will require all seven actions. In fact, this is rarely the case. However, it's helpful to understand each section to know when and how to use each action.
Getting started
The first and most important step is Check (The first "C"). Recognizing how you are feeling and understanding the signs of mental stress in others is essential to SFA.
The Mental Health Continuum chart is an easy and effective way to "Check" how stress is affecting you. The SFA Model is designed to help people move into the healthy part of the continuum. Ask yourself which "zone" best reflects your recent state of mind.
Use the chart and the GRAPES tool to help support your mental health.
Read on to learn what each of the Stress First Aid "Cs" mean for you and those around you:
What Check looks like for you: Regularly check in with yourself using the mental health continuum as a guide. Observe which zone you fall on the continuum.
What Check looks like for others: Look and listen to what is going on with an individual who is showing signs of stress. Approach the "Check" process in a casual, non-confrontational way. Use open-ended questions and use observed signs of stress if necessary to foster conversation.
How to use Check: Practice checking in on yourself and those around you. Checking in on someone after a challenging event or stressful day is especially helpful. “How are you doing?” is the easiest way to start.
What Coordinate looks like for you: Understand what resources and services are available to you to help. Ask for support from others who may be impacted by your stress.
What Coordinate looks like for others: Consult and collaborate with others who have a stake in the well-being and future of the stressed individual. Get assistance from others if needed.
How to use Coordinate: If someone you know needs to access employee support resources through Sharp, encourage them to register for confidential support through our Employee Assistance Program — Magellan Healthcare's Employee Assistance Program.
What Cover looks like for you: Find those people, places or actions that feel safe to you and call on them when needed. When you feel unsafe, distract yourself by focusing on something near you or your own breathing.
What Cover looks like for others: Stand by someone (usually a colleague) and remain available and ready to assist as needed. Listen for ways you can jump in and provide support. Make the person feel safe in any way you can. Depending on what a person is doing and how they are responding, adjust communication with that person to be more abrupt or directive if it's necessary to keep them safe.
How to use Cover: If you or someone else is in an imminently unsafe situation, call the National Suicide Hotline at “988” or the San Diego Access and Crisis Line at 888-724-7240.
What Calm looks like for you: The goal is to reduce the intensity of physiological, emotional and behavioral activation. Remove yourself from a stressor, if possible. Practice mindfulness, get rest and do deep breathing exercises to invoke calm and reduce the harm of stress. Spend time with people who are important to you.
What Calm looks like for others: Give information about the context, skills or strategies that might help a person feel more informed and in control of a stressful event. Apply the same principals you'd use on yourself for others — encourage a stressed person practice deep breaths, offer a distraction or change of environment, and encourage access to stress-reducing activities.
How to use Calm resources:
RethinkCare — Join for access to virtual training that helps you thrive at home, work and everywhere in between. Learn to manage stress, be more resilient, sleep better and grow in your career. RethinkCare helps you develop lifelong resilience skills to help you be a better version of yourself.
Sharp mindfulness classes — Certified instructors provide guidance in exploring and developing a mindfulness practice. These classes are informal; you may join for all or part of the 30-minute sessions. Mindfulness meditation drop-in sessions are held on: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 11:30 am to noon and 12 to 12:30 pm.
What Connect looks like for you: Actively and openly ask for support from those around you. Avoid levels of isolation that are unusual for you.
What Connect looks like for others: Offer support to someone who is experiencing stress. If possible, remove barriers to social connection and encourage others to reach out.
How to use Connect: Ask a colleague to eat lunch with you, call a loved one on the way home from work, or arrange to meet up with a friend you haven’t seen in awhile.
What Competence looks like for you: Take time off as needed to re-group. Practice HRO skills such as cross-monitoring to be assured that you are completing your tasks the right way. Explore coping skills, such as mindfulness, to help you manage stressful events.
What Competence looks like for others: Provide thoughtful feedback and offer to cross-monitor to validate and encourage colleagues. Encourage self-care and continue to coordinate resources that will help reduce burnout and improve.
How to use Competence: Have you been putting off a certification or is there an area of your practice that you could benefit from retraining? How can you give yourself or another a pat on the back for learning something new?
What Confidence looks like for you: Use small triumphs to build confidence. Talk with mentors, friends or spiritual guides, or read more self-help books or articles. Use the wisdom gained from hard experiences to reconfirm your values, make changes in your life, appreciate what you value or help others.
What Confidence looks like for others: Mentor the person back to full confidence in self, leadership and/or core values. Discuss any obstacles to confidence, such as the person's sense of guilt or anger, and if possible, shift them to a lessons learned perspective.
How to use Confidence: Where are the areas of your life where you can build more confidence? What aspects of yourself, your team, and/or your organization do you already feel confident in? Connecting to our confidence restores our hope.
