The First Response We Never Built: ASSYST-HEART Neuro-Stabilisation in Australasian Disaster Management
Tracks
Southport Room 1
| Tuesday, July 28, 2026 |
| 2:40 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Southport Room 1 |
Overview
Vania Miteva, VM Psychology Services
Amanda Jones, Critical Incidents Response Network
Details
Three Key Learnings
1. Delegates will recognise the gap in current Australian and New Zealand disaster mental health systems, where responses move from Psychological First Aid directly to therapy without an intermediate clinical stabilisation step.
2. Delegates will understand how ASSYST-HEART provides an early neuro-stabilisation intervention that can be delivered in groups by both EMDR and non-EMDR clinicians to prevent escalation of acute stress into disorder.
3. Delegates will learn practical principles for integrating scalable early intervention into emergency management structures to support responders and communities while reducing long-term recovery burden and service demand.
Speaker
Ms Amanda Jones
Director
Critical Incidents Response Network
The First Response We Never Built: ASSYST-HEART Neuro-Stabilisation in Australasian Disaster Management
Abstract
In Australia and New Zealand, disaster mental health response typically progresses from Psychological First Aid directly to counselling or trauma-focused therapy. The intermediate clinical stabilisation tier is largely absent, and group-based early interventions remain significantly underutilised for both communities and first responders. This structural gap contributes to preventable escalation of acute stress into persistent mental health disorders, workforce overload, and increased long-term recovery costs.
ASSYST-HEART (Humanitarian Emergency ASSYST Response Training) is a brief neuro-stabilisation intervention developed, applied, refined, and researched during real humanitarian crises worldwide. The protocol targets acute stress activation through autonomic nervous system regulation and reduction of intrusive distress, supporting adaptive processing before symptoms consolidate into disorder .It can be delivered individually or in groups, in person or remotely, and uniquely can be administered by both EMDR-trained and non-EMDR clinicians, enabling rapid workforce scaling during emergencies.
We propose embedding ASSYST-HEART as the missing intermediate step within stepped disaster care, bridging humanitarian support and intensive therapy. Training a broad range of mental health professionals allows population-level stabilisation across evacuation centres, responder organisations, and affected communities.
Early neuro-stabilisation shifts disaster systems from reactive treatment to preventative care, reducing progression to mental illness and preserving specialist resources. Integrating this tier completes the disaster mental health framework for Australasia and supports more sustainable recovery following natural and human-made crises.
ASSYST-HEART (Humanitarian Emergency ASSYST Response Training) is a brief neuro-stabilisation intervention developed, applied, refined, and researched during real humanitarian crises worldwide. The protocol targets acute stress activation through autonomic nervous system regulation and reduction of intrusive distress, supporting adaptive processing before symptoms consolidate into disorder .It can be delivered individually or in groups, in person or remotely, and uniquely can be administered by both EMDR-trained and non-EMDR clinicians, enabling rapid workforce scaling during emergencies.
We propose embedding ASSYST-HEART as the missing intermediate step within stepped disaster care, bridging humanitarian support and intensive therapy. Training a broad range of mental health professionals allows population-level stabilisation across evacuation centres, responder organisations, and affected communities.
Early neuro-stabilisation shifts disaster systems from reactive treatment to preventative care, reducing progression to mental illness and preserving specialist resources. Integrating this tier completes the disaster mental health framework for Australasia and supports more sustainable recovery following natural and human-made crises.
Biography
Amanda is a senior trauma practitioner, EMDRIA-approved Consultant, and Director of the Stress and Trauma Clinic in Mittagong, NSW. She works at the operational interface of disaster response, emergency services, and community recovery. Following the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, she contributed to the development of trauma-informed response frameworks supporting first responders and disaster-affected communities. As Co-Director of the Critical Incident Response Network, she leads clinician and responder capacity-building initiatives across Australia. Her expertise includes EMDR therapy, stabilisation frameworks, disaster mental health, and secondary trauma, grounded in frontline deployment, interagency collaboration, and community-based recovery practice.
Ms Vania Miteva
Director
VM Psychology Services
The First Response We Never Built: ASSYST-HEART Neuro-Stabilisation in Australasian Disaster Management
Abstract
In Australia and New Zealand, disaster mental health response typically progresses from Psychological First Aid directly to counselling or trauma-focused therapy. The intermediate clinical stabilisation tier is largely absent, and group-based early interventions remain significantly underutilised for both communities and first responders. This structural gap contributes to preventable escalation of acute stress into persistent mental health disorders, workforce overload, and increased long-term recovery costs.
ASSYST-HEART (Humanitarian Emergency ASSYST Response Training) is a brief neuro-stabilisation intervention developed, applied, refined, and researched during real humanitarian crises worldwide. The protocol targets acute stress activation through autonomic nervous system regulation and reduction of intrusive distress, supporting adaptive processing before symptoms consolidate into disorder .It can be delivered individually or in groups, in person or remotely, and uniquely can be administered by both EMDR-trained and non-EMDR clinicians, enabling rapid workforce scaling during emergencies.
We propose embedding ASSYST-HEART as the missing intermediate step within stepped disaster care, bridging humanitarian support and intensive therapy. Training a broad range of mental health professionals allows population-level stabilisation across evacuation centres, responder organisations, and affected communities.
Early neuro-stabilisation shifts disaster systems from reactive treatment to preventative care, reducing progression to mental illness and preserving specialist resources. Integrating this tier completes the disaster mental health framework for Australasia and supports more sustainable recovery following natural and human-made crises.
ASSYST-HEART (Humanitarian Emergency ASSYST Response Training) is a brief neuro-stabilisation intervention developed, applied, refined, and researched during real humanitarian crises worldwide. The protocol targets acute stress activation through autonomic nervous system regulation and reduction of intrusive distress, supporting adaptive processing before symptoms consolidate into disorder .It can be delivered individually or in groups, in person or remotely, and uniquely can be administered by both EMDR-trained and non-EMDR clinicians, enabling rapid workforce scaling during emergencies.
We propose embedding ASSYST-HEART as the missing intermediate step within stepped disaster care, bridging humanitarian support and intensive therapy. Training a broad range of mental health professionals allows population-level stabilisation across evacuation centres, responder organisations, and affected communities.
Early neuro-stabilisation shifts disaster systems from reactive treatment to preventative care, reducing progression to mental illness and preserving specialist resources. Integrating this tier completes the disaster mental health framework for Australasia and supports more sustainable recovery following natural and human-made crises.
Biography
Vania Miteva is a New Zealand-based EMDR therapist, trainer and humanitarian responder with over 20 years’ clinical experience. She is the only Certified ASSYST-HEART trainer in Australasia and provides pro-bono disaster-response training locally and internationally. In collaboration with CIRN Australasia, she trained 150 clinicians to support communities affected by the Bondi shooting and 50 clinicians responding to recent severe weather events in New Zealand. Vania also prepared international teams for earthquake response and delivered post-flood community interventions in Bulgaria. An accredited EMDR trainer and consultant, her work focuses on scalable early trauma stabilisation to prevent long-term psychological injury following disasters.
