Psychological First Aid in Neonatal and Pediatric Critical Care: Supporting Medical Teams and Caregivers.

Background: In neonatal and pediatric critical care, psychological first aid supports medical teams dealing with emotional strains and lessens family anguish. In addition to medical care, it encourages resiliency, compassionate care, and holistic healing. This minireview's objective was to illustrate the importance of psychological first aid in neonatal and pediatric critical care, not only for patients but also for caregivers and medical teams. Methods: We used a variety of research sources, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Springer, Frontiersin, ELSEVIER, and Scopus. Key phrases including psychological first aid, family support, healthcare professionals, and trauma intervention are used in our research. Up until 2025, studies published in English were included in the search. Articles with no full text available, conference abstracts, and publications written in languages other than English were not included. To find further pertinent studies, the reference lists of chosen publications were also examined. Results: The results of the literature study show that psychological first aid is widely accepted as an adaptable and a practice-based framework with growing empirical support practice for reducing suffering in pediatric and neonatal critical care. Despite difficulties with standardization and evaluation, PFA showed advantages in lowering parental anxiety, assisting healthcare professionals, and building family resilience across several models (WHO, NCTSN, and Johns Hopkins). Conclusion: In neonatal and pediatric critical care, PFA provides a useful and flexible framework for addressing psychological distress. Despite implementation problems, its integration can benefit medical teams, improve family functioning, and encourage holistic healing.