Friend,

Mental health support is essential to help people adapt, recover, and rebuild their lives in the wake of an emergency. For people in crisis, the invisible wounds left by trauma can be as devastating as the physical ones. That’s why psychological first aid is a vital component of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s emergency response.

We are thankful for our community of donors who allow us to provide psychological first aid in addition to our lifesaving medical care. Learn more about how your support powers our essential mental health care for patients around the world.
 

 

MSF provides psychological first aid to people experiencing acute distress after a traumatic event. It is a treatment that helps them cope with shock, panic attacks, and other issues related to mental health. Our aim is to stabilize people; secure a safe space for them; and ensure access to food, shelter, water, and medications.

After ensuring patients are physically safe, MSF teams focus on the trauma people have experienced, often addressing it with a mental health care tool called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps our patients reduce distress by changing thinking patterns, recognizing the physical symptoms of mental trauma, and managing their thoughts more effectively.
 

People who have experienced disasters like earthquakes in Afghanistan, the Ukraine war, and displacement in Gaza have received psychological first aid from MSF. Almost anyone will experience psychological distress in the aftermath of an emergency or traumatic event.

Mental health needs are often just as important and as urgent as medical needs. Receiving timely and proper mental health support can reduce a person’s recovery time from a traumatic event.
 

Our community mental health workers and other trained community members provide support to people after they have experienced trauma.

While psychological first aid specifically refers to treatment in the initial aftermath of a disaster, MSF also conducts group and individual mental health sessions in order to help people mentally recover long-term from what they’ve experienced.

Learn more about MSF’s work to provide critical mental health care to people in need.
 

Sincerely,

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA