Bainbridge Prepares

The Psychological First Aid (PFA) team leads trainings for citizens that show how we can ALL lend important emotional support to friends and neighbors in times of crisis. PFA is not a medical or psychological treatment. PFA provides support by trained volunteers and links individuals to additional resources as needed. The team is led by Linda Semlitz, MD, and Mary O’Leary, PhD, LCP. The team also includes Kelsey Lynch (our BIPD Community Health Navigator), Britt Gonsoulin, MD, MPH, and Lauren Storck, PhD.

• Johns Hopkins offers a free Coursera course on PFA.
• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network also has a free online course on PFA.

The following resources are also available:

• Download the Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide.
• PFA Mobile is a free tool from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that educates about key principles of PFA, helps providers assess their readiness to provide PFA, and helps track survivors’ needs during a response.
• The Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certification Program has released guidelines and resources for managing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. (This is separate from required PFA Certification.)
• Check out the COVID Behavioral Health Group Impact Guide.

Community Emergency Response Team members should take the PFA Certification Training. Other BP Volunteers will also be doing the PFA Certificate Training, and inquiries are invited from the community. 

The PFA Team is building communications with Certified PFA Volunteers over time. BP also offers related trainings of interest. 

PFA JOB DESCRIPTION (5/2021)  

A PFA Certified Volunteer will:

• • Reply to calls for deployment, after taking care of self, family, and neighbors.
  • Go to their assigned or nearest hub for a 6-8 hour shift and more shifts, if possible, 
  • Check in with the designated hub manager and locate the PFA binder of materials. 
  • LOOK, LISTEN, AND LINK with people needing PFA services.  
  • Address additional needs according to guidelines in the binder. 
  • Coordinate with others on the PFA team as possible. 

MENTAL HEALTH & RESILIENCE

1. Check in with your primary care physician or pediatrician.
2. Get help from a mental health provider. Bainbridge Psychotherapy Guild has a list of mental health providers on Bainbridge Island here.
3. Make a call to the Washington Listens telephone line for pandemic-related stress: 833-681-0211.
4. Call the Crisis Clinic of the Peninsulas: 360-479-3033.
5. Starting July 16, call 988 if you are experiencing a mental health crisis or are at risk of suicide. 
6. For an emergency, contact 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Additional resources:

• This video is an interview with Bainbridge Island’s Community Health Coordinator Kelsey Lynch.

• The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act goes into effect July 16, 2022. This act designates 988 as a hotline number to call or text for mental health crises or suicide risk.  
• Download this Seattle Times guide to helping someone through a mental health crisis.
• The COVID Coach app designed by the VA is a free tool for coping with stress, anxiety, and low mood during the pandemic.
• Physician Support Line is a free national and confidential support line service made up of 600+ volunteers joined together in the determined hope to provide peer support for our physician colleagues as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Access it here or call 1-888-409-0141.
• The Science of Well-Being is a course offered by Yale University through Coursera for free.
• The Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention has released its Telehealth Guidelines for School Mental Health Professionals: Strategies for Engaging Students and Building Resilience. Access it here.
• Medicaid covers certain mental health services. To find out if a particular service is covered, click here. In addition, tele-health services are provided. Coinsurance and deductibles apply, though some healthcare providers are reducing or waiving the amount you pay for telehealth visits. 
• Washington Listens provides support with pandemic-related stress and emotional fallout caused by COVID-19. People can also access the service via telephone at 1-833-681-0211.
• Dr. Roby Marcou’s Facebook page offers a host of resources to help with COVID-19. 
• COVID-19: Resources to Promote Mental Well-Being is a list of support available from the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The resources range from free phone or video support to training presentations on Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR).
• Black Mental Health Resources is a page on the Mental Health Coalition website that lists resources that support Black mental health.
• Check out The Ingredients of Resilience Handout.
• Maintaining Mental Health During the Corona Virus offers tips for yourself and how to help a friend.
• Check out 25 Tips for Coping with Quarantine.
• COVID has been here for over a year and continues. Mental health issues related to the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression and other mental health disorders. The relapse and overdose rate has increased by 30 percent since March 2020. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24-hour text helpline. Text NAMI 741741 or call between 9 am and 5 pm: 800-950-6264.
• Wired magazine has published an article listing three digital-based services to support mental health.

Also be sure to check out the Bainbridge Prepares Wellness Team page.

SUPPORTING YOUR KIDS

• Raising Resilience has archived all their videos for parents.
• Connections Cafe is a free virtual Cafe hosted by Raising Resilience “to help our parenting community come together (while keeping their distance) to process and implement the shift in our daily lives.”
• Watch the Explaining COVID video.
• Watch the How to Talk to Your Kids About Mental Health video.
• The University of Michigan Psychiatry Department has published Helping Kids Cope with the COVID-19 Crisis, a web page with information and resource links.
• WOEBOT is a free self-care text-based app that assists with anxiety, stress, and depression using CBT techniques.
• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has great resources for children and families regarding COVID-19 here.
• In partnership with Zero to Thrive, the University of Michigan has also released an infographic about Helping Young Kids Through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis.
• Dr. Annette LaGreca of the University of Miami and Scott Sevin of 7-Dippity have adapted their book about dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane to the new situation of a pandemic. Helping Children and Families Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic includes worksheets/discussion guides for parents and children ages 6-12.
• The Child Mind Institute offers a series of guides to help parents making decisions about a child’s mental health and/or learning disorders.
• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Therapy provides a guide to help parents know when to seek mental health services for a child.
• The Coalition to Support Grieving Students offers a video that demonstrates how to talk with students who have recently experienced the death of someone close to them.
• Nationwide Children’s campaign called On Our Sleeves, which addresses children’s mental health, has released Behavioral Health Resources for Coronavirus.
• Check out this info. on staying safe while staying close from the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families. Here are some of the Center’s Wellness Prescriptions.
• The Washington State Department of Health has released a Behavioral Health Toolbox for Families with resources for supporting teens and children during the pandemic. 
• KQED has posted an article about helping kids with suicidal ideation, React Calmly, Listen, Offer Hope: Help a Child at Risk of Suicide.
• Study.com is offering a Mental Health Guide for High School Students, featuring a  long list of actionable steps teens can take for mental health (such as exercise, diet, sleep, and sharing feelings); a variety of resources designed to help high school students tackle common mental health issues; and mental health strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This article from The Seattle Times offers advice on how to talk to your child about their mental health.
• The California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project has created a series of free videos for parents, educators, and students. The videos are available in English and Spanish. The first set is about Understanding Feelings.