Barrington Centre Managing Director Rhonda Andrews, a qualified and registered Psychologist, explains the psychological aspects of a crisis and how to manage them.

1. Barringtone2e
Psychological Risks and Human
Management in a Crisis
Rhonda Andrews
Managing Director, Barrington Centre Pty Ltd
Tuesday 24 May 2016

2. Identifying a Crisis
1. What is the crisis?
2. What are the facts we know?
3. What information do we still need?
4. What are the impacts upon individuals, groups, our business and
our stakeholders?
5. What are the risks now and later? (communication; safety; human
and legal)
6. What resources (internal and external) do I need now and later?

3. Psychological Risk and
Human Examples
Bus crash with residents
Resident family violence and
abuse
Health emergency with
infection or food
contamination
Carer and resident assaults
Threats due to natural disasters
like flood and fire or water cut
off

4. First Hour Priority – Psychological FirstAid
Comfort
Explanation
Safety
Drinking
water

5. What do you need to knowimmediately?
Who is
directly
affected?
Who
needs
support
right
now?
Identify
levels of
overall
risk

6. Psychological Readiness forWitness
Statements
• Are the staff psychologically ready to make
statements?
• Often due to trauma and shock, staff change their
witness statements
• Psychologists can assess their readiness to make
statements and therefore recommend suitability of
timing for such a process, particularly for key
stakeholders

7. First Day Priorities
Risk
• Psychological Risk Assessment of all staff who are
affected by trauma
Counselling
• Identify psychological services required today
Debrief
• Make sure those people helping others are also
supported through debriefing

8. Staff Risk Mitigation
Vicarious trauma Cumulative stress
Post Traumatic Stress
Resignations or
increased absenteeism
Mitigate

9. One WeekChecklist
• ‘Normalising’ reactions to trauma
• Daily face to face counselling for medium and high psychological risk
staff
• Daily staff meetings or staff communication to ensure consistent and
accurate information is being circulated
• Rank psychological risks of individuals
• Provide practical interventions to staff and relevant family members
• Rank psychological risks for groups and business

10. First Month Priority – strategies &solutions
• Identify any staff with high psychological risk and assess over 3
months to mitigate PTSD – potential WorkCover & resignations
• Implement structured 1:1 meetings with any increased absenteeism
• Conduct regular team meetings & social events to raise cohesiveness
post trauma
• Include staff in solutions for dealing with trauma and deaths –
memorial functions

11. In Summary
One Hour Psychological First Aid
One Day Psychological Risk Assessments ; debriefing and psychological
readiness for witness statements
One Week Normalising reactions and practical interventions
One Month Individual, group and business practical solutions and strategies
Consequence
Management
What did we learn and what proactive strategies do we want to
put in place now?