This guide was developed to assist institutions of higher education in creating and updating emergency plans that are responsive to active shooter situations, as well as natural disasters. This resource was jointly developed by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services so that campus communities can align their emergency planning practices with those at the national, state, and local levels.

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians offers this collection of resources for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to help them understand and manage their own work-related stressors and mental health and support the individuals they serve. The collection includes articles, research, online information, and hotlines.

Designed as a peer education effort for firefighters, this website features videos in which firefighters, fire chiefs, and captains talk about stress and trauma that may be involved in work as a firefighter, as well as experiences of seeking and taking part in treatment. Firefighters Helping Firefighters was created in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

This toolkit provides police officers with information and tools for practicing self-care. It utilizes several models to give police officers a background and understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder and ways to manage its symptoms.

The Headington Institute offers a variety of trainings, educational materials, and counseling and consultation services for humanitarian relief and development workers and emergency responders. It does work to support the well-being of responders and response organizations and the effectiveness of response efforts.

This online brochure provides physical and psychological safety tips for disaster responders. The brochure notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Resilience and Mental Health Team supported development of this resource. A section of the brochure describes resilience to stress, lists signs of stress, and suggests ways to build resilience.

This tip sheet describes aspects of the transition families go through when a member returns home after a disaster deployment. It also suggests ways that family members other than the responder can navigate the transition and support the responder in coping with the return home.

This part of the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) website explains that responders face heightened risk of mental illness and substance use disorders due to the nature of their work. It identifies signs of stress; ways to manage stress; and related resources from SAMHSA DTAC, including online trainings, webcasts, and tip sheets.

This tip sheet describes grief and the grieving process, both of which are often associated with disasters. It suggests ways to support survivors, as well as highlighting signs of complicated or traumatic grief or other grief that may require professional mental health care.

This 41-page manual for first responders and other disaster responders gives information on how to include communities it collectively refers to as newcomers—immigrants, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied children—in disaster planning, response, and recovery. It describes unique qualities of newcomer communities; recommendations; and tools to support disaster planning, response, and recovery that includes newcomers.

This website provides information about trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for a variety of audiences.

This toolkit is designed to support delivery of a training for mental health and other professionals on supporting children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in coping with and recovering from trauma. The curriculum covers the definition of intellectual and developmental disabilities, how intellectual and developmental disabilities and trauma can delay development in children, and ways to work with children and their families.

Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, this app is designed to support responders in meeting the mental health and substance use-related needs of disaster-affected communities. It can be used to access preparedness and response resources and find local mental health and substance use disorder treatment services for referrals.

This web page provides information for people who are traveling out of the United States to support individuals and communities, including those that have been affected by disasters. It suggests steps for humanitarian aid workers to take before, during, and after travel to protect their physical and mental health.

This brief (7-minute) training video teaches crisis counselors skills such as active listening to utilize during encounters with survivors. It also includes role-play scenarios to demonstrate ways to work with angry survivors. Although the video was designed for Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program staff, it may be useful to anyone providing crisis counseling after a disaster.

This tip sheet describes how responding to acts of violence, civil unrest, or terrorism can affect responders. The tip sheet lists steps that leaders can take in support of the mental health and resilience of their teams, tips for workload and stress management, and signs of compassion fatigue and related issues.

This resource collection includes materials to help both mental health treatment professionals and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources address helping individuals manage stress during the pandemic, self-care, and approaches to assistance such as Psychological First Aid.

This brochure describes trauma that children and adolescents may experience, including trauma associated with natural and human-caused disasters. It indicates how children and adolescents may respond to trauma and how rescue workers can help children and adults cope with stressors and trauma, and it identifies sources of additional information and support.

This page shares five elements that are related to better early- and mid-term recovery after disasters, including promoting a sense of psychological safety, promoting calming, and instilling hope. It also discusses Psychological First Aid (PFA), an evidence-informed, modular approach for helping disaster survivors, and explains how PFA can be used to reduce distress through eight core actions.

This page discusses ways that disaster responders and mental health treatment professionals can help survivors of disasters in the weeks or months following the disaster. The page suggests ways to reach the full community of survivors and describes Skills for Psychological Recovery, an intervention designed to be used after Psychological First Aid has been used in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Compatible with iOS and Android devices, this mobile app is designed to support disaster responders in providing Psychological First Aid (PFA) in the field. The app features reviews of PFA core actions, tips on providing PFA, and tools for tracking the needs of survivors.

This tip sheet provides information on how responders can apply PFA during and in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. It highlights actions to take in interacting with survivors, things not to say or do in providing PFA, and the importance of training in PFA for a range of types of responders.

Developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network with the National Center for PTSD, Psychological First Aid (PFA) is, according to this guide, “an evidence-informed modular approach to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism.” The guide describes how to use PFA after a disaster and includes worksheets responders can use for tracking interactions with survivors.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online is an interactive course in which the participant learns about PFA by taking on the role of a provider after a disaster. The course includes expert tips, videos, and activities in support of learning. The course is available free of charge; however, to complete a course, you must create a National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center account.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online is an interactive course in which the participant learns about PFA by taking on the role of a provider after a disaster. The course includes expert tips, videos, and activities in support of learning. The course is available free of charge; however, to complete a course, you must create a National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center account.