A Pre-Early Intervention: How to Give Psychological First Aid

Around 30 participants attended the "Psychological First Aid" workshop, conducted by Stephanie Hernández Vélez and Brenda Liz Rivera Morales and organized by the TIES Project.

The TIES Project, a federal initiative under the Municipality of San Juan’s AIDS Task Force, organized a training session titled “Psychological First Aid” for approximately 30 professionals from entities that attend vulnerable populations. The workshop addressed the essential elements of what an initial contact with an individual who has experienced a distressing incident should have, which are principles that are applicable to early intervention contexts, such as HIV testing and the delivery of results, among other situations.

This activity was coordinated through a collaboration between the community outreach and early intervention components of the TIES Project, led by Inés Serrano Santana and Jesús Marrero Santiago, respectively. These efforts are part of Project TIES' primary goal: to reduce new HIV cases by at least 90% by 2030.

The training, conducted by licensed rehabilitation counselors Stephanie Hernández Vélez and Brenda Liz Rivera Morales, enabled participants to identify the various reactions children and adults may experience following a disaster or traumatic event. In such moments, psychological first aid must address the following: providing comfort and attention, validating experiences and feelings, fostering connections, offering accurate and timely information, promoting positive coping strategies, and assisting with problem-solving.

“The more social support there is, the greater the chances of a full recovery,” Rivera Morales stated regarding support networks during her presentation at the Hall of Immortals within the Dr. Gualberto Rabell Diagnostic and Treatment Center (CDT, in Spanish) in Santurce. Both counselors, trained at the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at the State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation in New Paltz, also emphasized the importance of practicing reflective listening when handling situations; this approach entails being realistic, validating feelings, remaining focused on the individual, tolerating silence, and reconnecting with emotions.

Jesus Marrero Santiago, the early intervention lead for Project TIES, supports a participant as they practice implementing psychological first aid.

Although these are not clinical interventions, these elements help regulate the emotions of a person facing a high-risk situation. To demonstrate this, the instructors set up a scenario where training participants practiced the skills discussed in the workshop to ensure an appropriate intervention.

Participants in the training included health promoters, case managers, and other early intervention professionals from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), Casa Joven del Caribe, Centro Ararat, Centro de Estudios Materno Infantil (CEMI), Centro Manuel Díaz García of the Municipality of San Juan, Estancia Corazón, Hogar CREA, Iniciativa Comunitaria, La Perla del Gran Precio, Programa Control V, Prepven, and Puerto Rico CoNCRA.