Psychological First Aid for Supporting Black Students
PFA is an evidence-informed approach for assisting children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of a critical incident, disaster, or terrorism. PFA is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning.
Racial trauma is defined as the mental and emotional injury caused by race-based traumatic incidents and other forms of violence towards African Americans and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Children and youth may experience race-based traumatic incidents in various ways, including direct impact, indirect exposure, or through media outlets. These guides have been adapted to support students, parents/caregivers, and staff who are continually experiencing discrimination and repeated acts of racial violence and agression that may result in racial trauma.
