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The main objective of emergency psychology is the intervention following situations of high emotional impact, both at the scene of the event and in the minutes or hours following the incident. This discipline is currently gaining prominence due to the need for professionals in the emergency response field who provide psychological support and assistance tailored to the critical situations inherent to the emergency field.

From this perspective, SAMUR-Civil Protection has made a commitment to citizens in its Service Charter to "maintain an on-site psychological support service for situations of high emotional impact, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

To fulfil this commitment, since 2003, it has maintained a team of six on-duty psychologists who operate in 24-hour shifts, supported by a psychosocial team made up of Civil Protection volunteers.

The on-duty Psychologist is part of the SAMUR-Civil Protection operation and is responsible for providing emergency psychological assistance in all potentially traumatic situations due to the high emotional impact which the event may have on the patient's family members, witnesses on the scene or those involved in the

incident, or in those situations where the psychologist is the most appropriate resource.

The care function is carried out through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model (medical and psychological care), provided on-site in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event. The psychological intervention is based on the theoretical framework of the preventive approach to crisis intervention, serving as a form of initial psychological first aid.

The main objectives of this psychological intervention following a traumatic event are to:

· Minimise the short-term psychological impact.

· Facilitate adequate coping mechanisms in situations which are potentially stressful due to their high emotional content.

· Reduce the probability of occurrence of psychopathological disorders in those persons who have been direct or indirect patients, involved parties, family members, friends or relatives in traumatic and unexpected events.

· Provide information and guidance on specific support resources.

· Promote access to the healthcare network for at-risk population.

Another activity of the team of psychologists is the provision of psychological support to the first responders. Working in emergency services implicitly entails exposure to situations of high emotional impact which can shatter the well-being of medical professionals. In this regard, several training courses on coping with work-related stress and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) are offered as a primary prevention measure. These activities provide the participants with strategies and skills to enable and equip same to carry out his/her daily work.

Immediate psychological support is likewise offered in extreme situations, as well as individual psychological counselling, providing special assistance to the first responders who have participated in mass casualty situations, both in our city and in humanitarian aid missions abroad.