Training for trainers – Psychological first

In the period from May 29 to June 2, 2023, four participants from the Red Cross of the Republic of North Macedonia were part of the interactive Training of Trainers (ToT) for Psychological First Aid (PFA), organized by the Reference Center for Psychosocial Support of the IFRC and the IFRC Country Cluster Delegation for Central and South-Eastern Europe, hosted by the Red Cross of Montenegro. The theme of the training was: Capacity Building and Program Development Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support.

The overall aim was to support National Societies in Central and South Eastern Europe to improve their capacities to support people affected by the international armed conflict in Ukraine. The training was facilitated by a lecturer from the Reference Center for Psycho-Social Support. Participants have further developed Psychological First Aid skills, adapted to the current needs of displaced persons and other vulnerable persons, and will be able to train staff and volunteers in their respective national societies on the topics covered by the training.

The key topics of the training were: Psychological first aid as a skill in the context of MHPSS in the community, Approaches to psychological first aid in contexts related to displacement, Provision of psychological first aid based on the participants’ own cases, Basic principles of community interventions relevant to psychological first aid, Stressors and reactions related to displacement, Loss and grief and psychological first aid, A trauma-informed approach to psychological first aid, Understanding transgenerational trauma in displacement and armed conflict, Principles of adult learning, peer support systems and safe feedback, Layers in conversation and how to integrate them into psychological first aid, and Awareness of the need and importance of self-care when helping others.