美國頻頻發生集體槍擊事件，其中一宗發生在Pittsburgh（匹茲堡）一間猶太教堂。當時教堂內正舉行嬰兒命名儀式，一名中年白人男槍手突然闖入並高喊「所有猶太人都要死」，然後開槍，造成十多人死傷。
在場的人的心理自然受到很大衝擊，但社區中的其他人，特別是猶太人社群，就算沒有目睹血腥場面，心理、情緒一樣受到影響。 CNN報道：
Dismay, horror and disbelief were feelings shared by many in the aftermath（後果） of the mass shooting at a synagogue（猶太教堂） in Pittsburgh that left 11 people dead and six wounded.
驚愕又恐懼
Dismay用作名詞，解concern and distress caused by something unexpected，驚愕；例如︰In the workers’ dismay, the company cancelled their year-end bonus. Dismay也用作動詞，解cause someone to feel concern and distress，使驚愕；例如︰The school was dismayed when the government suspended its subsidy.
Horror是恐懼。 Disbelief解inability or refusal to accept that something is true or real，不能相信、懷疑；例如︰She stared at me in disbelief when I told her she had failed the examination.（我告訴她她考試不及格，她一臉懷疑盯着我。）
這些恐襲、校園槍擊、教堂槍擊等都是traumatic（精神創傷性的）事件，美國國民都成為驚弓之鳥。很多人都需要幫助治療心理的創傷，除了事後心理輔導，受影響的人也需即時協助。
處理身體受傷的急救叫first aid，心理創傷需要的first aid則叫Psychological First Aid （PFA，心理急救）。 George S. Everly是這方面的專家、The Johns Hopkins Guide to Psychological First Aid的作者。他解釋：”Perhaps the best way to conceptualize（概念化） PFA is as the psychological health analogue（模擬的） to physical first aid. It’s applying a psychological bandage.”
他說︰”Psycholosgical First Aid can help support family and friends through a crisis.”（心理急救可以幫助家人朋友渡過危機。）”Consistent with our intuitions, a recommendation in the American Journal of Psychiatry stated that shortly after a stressful （造成重大壓力的） event, it is important that those affected be provided empathic（有同理心的）, practical psychological support beginning with a compassionate（基於同情的） and supportive presence.”
療心do’s and don’ts
他強調，需要受過訓練才可為心理受創的人進行PFA，但他列出一些do’s and don’ts（應遵循的行為規範），讓公眾對PFA的過程有些理解。要點包括：
‧Do remain calm when speaking to a person in distress（痛苦）. Show concern but be a confident reassuring（令人寬慰的） presence. The other person will gain confidence from your confidence.
‧Do listen. Encourage the person to talk about what happened and their reactions to those events. If the person does not want to speak at that time, ask if you can check back with them later.
‧Don’t interrupt（打斷）, unless the disclosure seems to be escalating（使惡化） the distress.
‧Don’t be dismissive（輕視的）. Don’t minimize（貶低） their concerns or say, “Well at least …” as an attempt to distract, or help the person feel better.
