ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID

SUPPORT BEGINS IN EVERYDAY PRACTICE

Psychological First Aid is about how we meet one another when someone is affected by a traumatic event, crisis, or strain — and how we create safety and support together within the workplace community. Support begins in everyday practice: in the relationships and in the sense of community that can sustain and restore when life takes an unexpected turn.

It is not about being a therapist, but about having the courage to be present as a colleague or leader. Most people move through difficult experiences without lasting harm, and for that very reason we must be careful not to pathologise normal reactions — but instead strengthen the support we can offer one another.

We are not defined by what we are exposed to, but by how we handle it 

– and not least by the people around us when life happens.

COMMUNITY RATHER THAN THE ELEVATOR EFFECT

Psychological First Aid helps us avoid the elevator effect — where one moves directly to specialist support without first activating collegial support and leadership responsibility. Here, the Workplace Support Pyramid provides a simple model for organising support in layers — from the immediate and relational to the more specialised.

MORE THAN A LEGAL REQUIREMENT

Psychological First Aid forms part of the requirements set out in Danish working environment legislation to manage psychological strain and ensure a healthy psychosocial work environment. But it is also a way to strengthen cohesion, wellbeing, and psychological safety in the workplace.