Psychosocial services and support for emergencies

Emergency psychosocial supports guide

The guide to emergency psychosocial supports explains what psychosocial supports are available in emergencies. The department coordinates these supports.

The guide covers:

• what support is available
• when agencies can provide support (before, during and after an emergency)
• the department’s role and responsibilities.

Reporting on psychosocial supports

In terms of emergency psychosocial supports, the department is the:

• state relief coordinating agency
• state recovery coordinating agency. 

To do this, we work with many agencies that provide these services. We have a reporting template for these agencies to use. The template collects information on:

• services delivered
• number of people supported.

This information gives us a high-level view that helps us plan and coordinate services.

The Emergency Management Psychosocial Services Panel 

The Emergency Psychosocial Services (PSS) Panel is a group of experts in psychosocial support. They have experience in helping communities prepare for and recover from emergencies. 

They have expertise in many areas of specialisation including:

• children and families impacted by disasters and complex trauma
• supporting school communities after critical incidents
• community preparedness and recovery
• trauma-informed training for emergency management staff.

The Panel offers psychosocial services for groups including:

• facilitating community meetings after a major emergency
• psychological first aid training
• trauma-informed counselling and personal support. 

They can provide their services either in person or online.

Victorian councils and other government agencies

Victorian councils, government departments and agencies can request psychosocial support for communities from the Panel. Agencies can engage the Panel at any stage of an emergency. 

We can help meet community needs for large and small emergencies. This can include information for councils to use on their channels.

Tips for organising an event with a Psychosocial Services panel member

The following tips are based on what has worked well during previous panel visits to impacted communities:

• Brief the panel member at least 3 days before the event. Consider including in your briefing:
  • what community sentiment is like at the time (i.e. is there a growing feeling of anger)
  • what the major recovery themes are
  • the demographics of your community
  • what you expect the attendance to be.
• Consider accessibility – select a community space for the event that is large enough and considers accessibility needs to accommodate all members of the community.
• Explore options for live broadcasting the event, if it’s possible. Local radio may be a good option for live broadcasting, as can live-streaming on your social media platforms.
• Questions and discussions at the end of the event should not be included in the live broadcast, to protect privacy. Ensure you end any live broadcast when the main speaker has finished.

Questions and discussions at the end of the event should not be included in the live broadcast, to protect privacy. Ensure you end any live broadcast when the main speaker has finished. Make sure you have strong protocols for how questions are managed – like setting a time limit and having a moderator review questions.

Template flyer for Psychosocial Services panel events

The department has produced a template flyer for local councils to use when promoting an event featuring a member of the panel. You can customise this with date and location information, council logos and information most useful to your local community.

Psychosocial sessions flyer template

Contact the Psychosocial Services Panel

To find out more about the Psychosocial Services (PSS) Panel or request psychosocial support email PSSPanel@dffh.vic.gov.au.

Other services

The Australian Red Cross and the Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry provide:

• outreach
• psychological first aid
• personal support
• emotional and spiritual care. 

The Australian Psychological Society also has resources about mentally preparing for emergencies. They emphasise the importance of including these steps in your emergency plans. 

Working with people affected by an emergency

Being under threat puts the body into an instinctive survival state. People affected by an emergency may have many differing emotions. This could include anxiety, anger and uncertainty.

How to help

You can help people affected by emergencies by:

• providing reassurance
• giving information about emergency supports like accommodation, financial help, connecting with family
• providing emotional support
• letting express their emotions like anger, fear, frustration.

Tips

• let people talk about their concerns without judgement
• ask questions to make sure you understand them
• use your body language to let them know you are listening
• avoid interrupting them
• validate their feelings
• avoid giving advice if it’s not wanted
• don’t compare the person’s experience to others
• don’t offer instructions without explaining why
• stay objective – their emotions are not directed at you
• speak slowly, politely and quietly, even if they are angry
• offer to follow up if you don’t have the answers they need.

How other people's anger affects you

You might usually cope having tough conversations with angry or worried people. But they can still affect you. 

Talking to your colleagues or people who understand your work can help. You might find it useful to talk about things that felt unfair, upsetting or worrying. 

Your organisation may also offer peer support or demobilisation sessions. These usually happen at the end of a shift or after the emergency has passed.