Role limits and correct referral

Knowing the limits of your role is not an admission of incapacity — it is a sign of professional competence. Timely referral saves lives.

Psychological first aid is designed for the acute phase — the first hours and days. After that, those who need ongoing support require a mental health specialist. Appropriate referral requires knowing available resources in advance: who is the available specialist in the area? What psychological services do the organisation or its partners offer? Referral requires three things: explaining the reason for referral to the person honestly and without stigma, obtaining their consent as much as possible, and ensuring necessary information transfer to the specialist (while maintaining confidentiality).

Grounding techniques are practical tools that help a person regain their presence in the current moment when intense emotions or traumatic memories overwhelm their awareness. The most widely used is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise: ask the person to name five things they can see, four things they can touch, three sounds they can hear, two things they can smell, and one thing they can taste. This exercise redirects the brain's attention from intense emotional processing to concrete physical senses. Physical grounding is also helpful: ask the person to place their feet firmly on the ground and focus on the sensation of their body's weight. A quiet phrase can be added such as: "I am here now, and this moment will pass." These techniques are completely safe and used with adults and children alike, and can be used before specialist referral or during follow-up.

Deep breathing is one of the simplest and most effective tools in psychological first aid. The Box Breathing technique: four seconds inhale, four seconds holding, four seconds exhale, four seconds pause — then repeat. This cycle activates the parasympathetic nervous system and calms the body's "fight or flight" response. The 4-7-8 technique is deeper: four seconds inhale, seven seconds holding, eight seconds exhale. The longer exhale sends a signal to the nervous system that the danger has passed. When teaching this technique to someone in crisis, sit beside them and practise it with them — your practical participation reduces resistance and speeds calming. Three breathing cycles are usually enough to begin feeling relief.

Peer Support Circles are small groups of volunteers who meet regularly to talk about their emotional experiences in fieldwork. They are not therapy sessions — but a preserved space for mutual listening without judgment, and sharing coping strategies. How to form a successful support circle: 4-6 volunteers who meet every two weeks, a designated facilitator who rotates, clear rules (confidentiality, no unsolicited direction, everyone's right to silence). Research confirms that volunteers who participate in peer support circles suffer less from emotional burnout and continue volunteering longer compared to those who work in emotional isolation.

A self-care plan is not a luxury — it is a professional tool that determines how you renew your energy after each intensive support session. It includes three types of elements: physical (adequate sleep, physical activity, regular nutrition), social (time with people who ask nothing of you), and psychological (activities that restore meaning to life and renew joy). As a psychological first aid provider, identify in advance: what are the three things that quickly recharge your energy? Who is the person you call when you feel heavy? What are the first physical signals that indicate you are spending more than you can? Early awareness of these signals allows you to stop for rest before reaching full burnout.

Long-term psychological resilience is not built in one day — but through small daily habits that accumulate an emotional reserve. Three practices that research confirms are effective for workers in first aid and psychological support: (1) Reflective writing: five minutes daily writing what you felt without censorship — this releases pressure from inside you onto paper and reduces its effect on your sleep and thinking. (2) Finding meaning in work: remind yourself each week of one story where you made a positive impact — this maintains motivation. (3) Clear time boundaries: when a support session begins and when it ends — time ambiguity prolongs psychological pressure on you more than the session itself.

The mental health of the volunteer themselves is not a secondary luxury — but a condition for sustaining their capacity to help others. Compassion Fatigue is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion affecting those who continuously provide care and support. Its early signs: loss of the empathy capacity that was natural, persistent fatigue even after rest, repeated thinking about work cases outside of working hours, and difficulty emotionally separating yourself from the cases you are supporting. Prevention begins with early awareness: monitor these signs in yourself and your colleagues, and be the first to seek support when you need it. Asking for help is not weakness in this context — it is evidence of professional maturity and self-awareness.

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