Stress First Aid
Stress First Aid Champion Training
Penn State Health seeks team members who are passionate about
supporting others to become Stress First Aid Champions.
A Stress First Aid Champion is a trusted peer who helps build resilience and provide support in the workplace. Champions aren’t counselors—they’re caring colleagues who recognize signs of stress, listen with empathy and connect others to helpful resources.
Register through Compass under Stress First Aid Champion Training. Employees must complete the prework before attending the session. After completing the required prework and two-hour training, Champions commit to serving for one year. Management approval is required to participate in the training.
Virtual training is available on one of the following dates:
- Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1–3 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 3, 9–11 a.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 16, 9–11 a.m.
Stress First Aid (SFA) is a practical, peer-to-peer model designed to help individuals recognize and respond to stress reactions early—before they become more serious. It provides a common language and structured approach for supporting well-being across teams, particularly in high-stress environments like healthcare.
Stress First Aid recognizes that stress affects everyone differently and can range from healthy and adaptive to severe and persistent. The Stress First Aid model helps individuals and teams identify where they or their peers may fall on this continuum and take proactive steps to restore balance and resilience.
Stress First Aid is not counseling or mental health treatment. It’s a compassionate, practical framework that empowers peers to notice, talk about, and respond to stress in everyday settings, strengthening both individual and team resilience. Stress First Aid is caring for ourselves and others.
Important Resources
Text or call “PSH Staff Support Hotline”: (717) 531-3600
Vist SupportLinc EAP
National Mental Health Crisis Line: 988
When should I use the Stress First Aid tool?
- Self-care
- Team huddles
- One-to-one meetings
- Staff meetings
- Team distress
- After challenging events
How should I use the Stress First Aid tool?
- Review card and determine your color
- After identifying your color, review “what to do” and utilize resources.
About Stress First Aid
- Stress First Aid is an evidence-informed self-care and peer support model.
- It was developed by the military and adapted for other high-risk occupations. It is based on factors that promote recovery from adversity and stress.
- Healthcare is a high-risk profession for stress injury due to high exposure to: trauma, loss, inner conflict and fatigue.
- Our goal is to use it as an intuitive, common language for how to know who is really “okay” and who needs more support and recovery from the immediate and residual stress responses from their work and to foster a culture of true well-being and collective care.
- Additional information: Here is a link to the website.