University of Virginia School of Nursing
Sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Health District, the School is proud to offer its first-ever psychological first aid course, free and open to interested clinicians, students and community members.

With the events in Charlottesville last August still fresh for many, two forthcoming courses on mental health first aid will offer participants a way to respond to and offer emotional support for community trauma.

Sponsored by UVA School of Nursing, the Thomas Jefferson Health District and the Medical Reserve Corps. the two day-long courses will be led by education specialist Patricia Watson, from the National Center for PTSD who's co-author of the Psychological First Aid Field Guide and the Skills for Psychological Recovery Manual, which are produced by the National center for PTSD and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

With the events in Charlottesville last August still fresh for many, two forthcoming courses on mental health first aid will offer participants a way to respond to and offer emotional support for community trauma.

June 18-20, 2018

The June 18 Psychological First Aid course will enable attendees to provide support during and after a traumatic community event. PFA is an evidence-informed approach to help children, adults and families during and in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster or a traumatic community event.

On June 19 and 20, a Skills for Psychological Recovery course will help clinicians and others learn to help survivors in longer-term support after a traumatic community event. SPR is an evidence-informed intervention that helps survivors gain skills to manage distress in the weeks, months, and years after a natural disaster or traumatic community event.

A powerful keynote address by Russell Jones, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Virginia Tech, will focus on the community and cultural context, and its relationship to events in Charlottesville on August 11 and 12, 2017. Jones, among the responders after the Virginia Tech shooting and Hurricane Katrina, is an expert in the study of disaster preparedness, PTSD, and post-traumatic growth, and has a keen interest in the impact of historical and systematic trauma on people of color.

This is a Continuing Education event. Contact hours will be provided by UVA School of Nursing Continuing Education in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Health District. While the event is free and open to the public, registration is required.

++ Due to overwhelming interest in the Psychological First Aid courses, which both take place in downtown Charlottesville, a waitlist has been established. UVA Nursing's Continuing Education will, however, be holding additional PFA courses in future months on a semi-regular basis. Please contact Linda Hanson to sign up to receive notification of future offerings.

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