Supporting infants, children and families during disaster response

This course is for workers and volunteers involved in emergency response who may interact with infants, children, young people and their families during or immediately after disasters.

After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

• understand how disasters can impact infant and child mental health and wellbeing, and the importance of their relationships with parents and caregivers during times of crisis
• plan how you will use psychological first aid to support infant, child and family mental health within the scope of your role
• tailor your support depending on children’s age, development, relationships and responses
• safely support infants and children separated from their parents, and the reunification process, by providing reassurance, information and space
• set up family-friendly, low stress environments for infants, children and families to rest and play
• connect families to the right support at the right time
• recognise when you and your own family might need support during and after disaster, and take time to look after yourselves.

It’s estimated that this course will take you approximately two hours to complete, including reading material and watching videos.

You can undertake the course across multiple sessions at your own pace. The last screen you visit before logging off will be saved and you will have the option of returning to that screen when you next log in.

Some content in this course may reflect or remind you of your own experiences. To support your wellbeing:

• take breaks as needed
• notice your emotional responses as you progress
• avoid completing the course in one sitting.

If you need support at any time, consider speaking with a supervisor or trusted colleague, or contact:

• Medicare Mental Health: call 1800 595 212
• Lifeline Australia: call 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue: call 1300 22 4636
• SANE Australia: call 1800 18 7263
• National Emergency Worker Support Service

For the purposes of this course, the term parent encompasses the biological and adoptive parents of a child as well as individuals who have chosen to take up a primary or shared responsibility in raising that child.

This course is informed by valuable research, practice insights and lived experience of disaster. Emerging Minds would like to thank the professionals and families who had an integral role in shaping this resource along with the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma Loss & Grief Network (ACATLGN) team at Australian National University (ANU). Led by Michelle Roberts, the ACATLGN team’s research informed the work that Emerging Minds has led since 2023.

Watch the following video (2 minutes, 7 seconds) for a quick guide on how to navigate Emerging Minds Learning courses.

In order to protect the privacy of children and families who have been through the stressful and distressing experience of a natural disaster, Emerging Minds decided to recreate authentic disaster settings and scenes using image creation software.