Extreme Weather Explained: Psychological First Aid and the Path to Recovery

Content warning: This episode discusses mass violence, disasters, and their psychological impact. Some listeners may find these topics distressing. Please take care while listening and feel free to pause or skip this episode if needed. 

Disasters affect more than homes and infrastructure. They can also have lasting impacts on mental health and well-being. What can we do to help people recover? On the third episode of Extreme Weather Explained, host Dr. Lisa Patel sits down with April Naturale, a nationally recognized traumatic stress specialist who led New York's mental health response to 9/11. April shares how psychological first aid helps people recover, why community connections are essential, and what health professionals can do to support healing. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Psychological First Aid online training from the National Center for PTSD:  https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/continuing_ed/psych_firstaid_training.asp   

Psychological First Aid online training from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network:  https://nctsn.org/resources/psychological-first-aid-pfa-online  

Psychological First Aid for Schools: https://www.nctsn.org/resources/psychological-first-aid-schools-pfa-s-field-operations-guide  

Stress First Aid: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/disaster_events/for_providers/stress_first_aid.asp  

Join or support the Consortium here: https://medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/  

Healthy Climate America is produced by Savannah Martincic. Our music was composed by James Harp.