How our critical incident response works
Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli provides trauma-informed emotional support following critical incidents.
Our response is designed to:
- reduce immediate distress
- support emotional safety
- connect people with ongoing support and appropriate referrals where needed
How we deliver community critical incident response:
Face-to-face wellbeing check-ins
Trained Lifeline counsellors and Crisis Supporters provide face-to-face wellbeing check-ins in community settings.
These check-ins can support people experiencing acute distress, help them feel safer and connect them with ongoing support or appropriate referrals where needed.
We’ve provided wellbeing check-ins after the Manly shark attack and Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attack, and to school communities following the sudden death of a student.
How we deliver community critical incident response:
Psychological first aid
Early support for people and groups with more direct or sustained exposure to trauma.
Typically delivered within the first three months after a critical incident, these adapted single-session interventions draw on eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) principles to help people process traumatic experiences.
The intervention aims to reduce distress, support recovery and lower the risk of longer-term trauma responses, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
We’ve provided psychological first aid to first responders involved in the Dee Why and Manly shark attacks, and to Lifeline counsellors and Crisis Supporters who supported the community following the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.