Learn Psychological First Aid

Presenters from FPCC and St. Bartholomew’s are joining together to offer an opportunity to learn Psychological First Aid (PFA) at no cost to Members of our congregations, to the faith community in Yarmouth, High School Juniors and Seniors, all Yarmouth Schools faculty and staff and all interested community members as space allows.

Objective: At the completion of the one-day training attendees will be able to effectively utilize PFA skills in the event of any context calling for that skill set (e.g., any disaster context). Faith Communities, schools, and hospitals sadly, are emerging as vulnerable to expanding threats. Our goal is to expand, support and sustain resources in the community able to provide effective assistance in times of need to foster community resilience and recovery skills.

About PFA: PFA is a modular, evidence-informed approach to helping in the immediate aftermath of a disaster (all-hazard). It was initially created by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCSTN) and the National Center for PTSD and is broadly considered the “standard of care” in its various forms around the world. It is a resilience-based model, and does not assume all survivors will develop more complex mental health issues, however timely and effective assistance in the immediate aftermath is useful in enhancing resilience and recovery. PFA training is appropriate for anyone capable of understanding the core actions and how to apply them in a disaster response with clarity and compassion while attentive to their own needs at the same time (e.g., personal safety, physical capacity, emotional well-being).

Where and when: We will meet at First Parish Congregational Church in the 2nd floor Chapel on Saturday, April 13th, 2024. Welcome begins at 8:30 AM and the training begins at 9:00 AM. Along with regular breaks, we will break for lunch at 12:00 and resume the training at 1:00 PM. We will conclude the training at 4:00PM.

About the trainers: Susan Peixotto LCSW, EMT is a Vestry member of St. Bartholomew’s in Yarmouth. She was a former faculty member and volunteer on the Maine FrontLine WarmLine and was presented with The President’s Gold Award for Volunteer Service (2021). She is currently part of the Maine FrontLine Connection Research Team and Maine Responds. She is a member of the Tri-County EMS Critical Incident Stress Management Team. She previously was a volunteer member of the Yarmouth Fire/Rescue Department.

Richard Lewis LCPC is a Deacon at FPCC, a former faculty member and volunteer with the Maine FrontLine WarmLine and was the primary trainer of PFA for that group. He is currently a member of the Maine FrontLine Connection Research Team and Maine Responds. He was a member of the Maine Medical Center Disaster Response Team and in that capacity provided PFA/SPR training and EOP development. Along with his MMC colleagues, he has presented in the United States, Canada and Israel on the topic of creating a Disaster Behavioral Health Response in Healthcare settings and professional medical training.

Plan: We will provide a no-charge, one-day (7 hours total) complete training consistent with current 6-hour virtual trainings available (e.g., NCTSN). The training will include both didactic and experiential components. Lunch will be on your own. We will provide light refreshments. We will provide certificates of satisfactory completion.

Email or call to confirm your space early,

and for any questions (please do not call the church offices):

RlewisLCPC@gmail.com, (207) 749-3451.