ABOUT
Rediscover your joy of learning and helping.
You're the type of person others turn to for help. Because you're already caring for others, you don't have time to waste on another confusing or tedious training. This is where your story and our story overlap—we knew there had to be a better way. We created Spiritual First Aid to so you can become the helper others need you to be without sitting through another complicated (or boring) training.
Co-Founders of Spiritual First Aid
Our Promise to You
Each of our Spiritual First Aid courses and resources are biblically-informed,
evidence-informed, and trauma-informed so you can feel confident in the care you give.
OUR STORY
We've distilled our global experiences in frontline spiritual and emotional care into straightforward, actionable steps you can apply to support others in your day-to-day life.
We briefly met in Haiti while helping after the 2010 earthquake. Our work there opened our eyes to the transformative impact everyday people can have on others when empowered with the right training. We stayed in touch over the years, motivated by a shared vision of humbly doing good, better.
Now we co-direct the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, The Better Samaritan podcast, and several national initiatives. Our experiences and research have reinforced how important humility is to being an effective helper, which is why humility is at the core of Spiritual First Aid and the BLESS CPR framework.
Through Spiritual First Aid, we share what we've learned from responding to everything from daily life challenges to global crises, through practical training and actionable tools, so you're better equipped to care for everyday mental health challenges, spiritual struggles, and trauma.
We've streamlined spiritual and emotional care into a practical step-by-step framework, enabling you to invest your time caring for others instead of worrying about the care you've given. We hope you'll join us on our journey to humbly keep learning to do good, better.
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CO-FOUNDERS OF SPIRITUAL FIRST AID
Get to Know Jamie and Kent
Jamie Aten, Ph.D.
Trauma Psychologist
JAMIE ATEN, PH.D., is the Co-Founder of Spiritual First Aid. He is also the Founder and Co-Director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute, Blanchard Chair of Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership, and Co-Coordinator of the Trauma Certificate Program at Wheaton College. He is both a Hurricane Katrina and a late-stage early-onset cancer survivor. He has responded to and researched disasters and mass traumas around the globe. He has published nine authored and edited books and over 150 scholarly publications. His research has been supported by over $7 million in awarded grants. He is frequently cited, interviewed, and published in outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, Fox News, BBC News, Psychology Today, Religion News Service, Moody Radio, and Christianity Today. In 2016, Jamie was awarded the FEMA Community Preparedness Champion Award at the White House. He also received the Early Career Award and Applied Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Award from the America Psychological Association’s Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. He is co-host of The Better Samaritan podcast.
Kent Annan, M.Div.
Humanitarian Ministry Leader
KENT ANNAN, M.DIV., is the Co-Founder of Spiritual First Aid. He is also the Co-Director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College. His humanitarian work has included living in England, France, Albania, Kosovo, and Haiti. Kent is a senior consultant for Development Associates International, which trains Christian leaders around the world. In addition, he co-founded the nonprofit Haiti Partners. He previously served on the board of directors of Equitas Group, which focused on child trafficking issues in Haiti and Southeast Asia. Kent writes for publications such as The Washington Post and Christianity Today. He is the author of four books, including Slow Kingdom Coming, You Welcomed Me, Slow Kingdom Coming, After Shock, and Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle. In addition, he is co-host of The Better Samaritan podcast.
Spiritual First Aid is an independent social enterprise dedicated to transforming scientific findings and best practices into user-friendly training and resources rooted in scripture and trauma-informed principles. This is accomplished by translating insights from our team's work, and from research through our affiliation with the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College.
