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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Psychological First Aid by Johns Hopkins University

4.8
stars
19,148 ratings

About the Course

Learn to provide psychological first aid to people in an emergency by employing the RAPID model: Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition. Utilizing the RAPID model (Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition), this specialized course provides perspectives on injuries and trauma that are beyond those physical in nature. The RAPID model is readily applicable to public health settings, the workplace, the military, faith-based organizations, mass disaster venues, and even the demands of more commonplace critical events, e.g., dealing with the psychological aftermath of accidents, robberies, suicide, homicide, or community violence. In addition, the RAPID model has been found effective in promoting personal and community resilience. Participants will increase their abilities to: - Discuss key concepts related to PFA - Listen reflectively - Differentiate benign, non-incapacitating psychological/ behavioral crisis reactions from more severe, potentially incapacitating, crisis reactions - Prioritize (triage) psychological/ behavioral crisis reactions - Mitigate acute distress and dysfunction, as appropriate - Recognize when to facilitate access to further mental health support - Practice self-care Developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Open Education Lab....

Top reviews

ED

May 22, 2020

I am very happy and satisfied with the course program. In fact, I am excited to apply what I have learned and also looking forward to enroll in another course. Thank you for this learning opportunity!

PG

Feb 9, 2017

A very helpful course and full of practical information for persons interfered with disaster relief and crisis intervention as this course has a well- planned syllabus and really informative vignettes

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226 - 250 of 4,521 Reviews for Psychological First Aid

By Janice J

Apr 18, 2020

As a School Counsellor I have found the course to be very helpful. Working with a population of just over 1000 students, having to teach, facilitate university applications, while also looking after the emotional, social and psychological needs of my student population I can see where the tenets of PFA can prove very beneficial. The module on Self Care was also very insightful. Thank you for making this course available at this time.

By Swan L

Jun 18, 2020

Enjoyed this course. Some instructors in this platform teach like they are reading from a script. Not Dr. Everly. Explanations of material is very clear, and it felt like I was attending this class in person. I started applying that first "R" in my day-to-day interactions with clients and students ... and it's true. Most of us want to or need to be given the space to be heard. Am going to take special note of "Top Ten Ways to Burnout".

By Lyndsey C

May 17, 2020

This course provides a fairly solid understanding of the RAPID model of Psychological First Aid. The content includes written, visual, and auditory learning materials to target multiple learning styles. Simulations and actual interviews from trauma and disaster survivors offer clear examples of what one might encounter in situations where PFA is needed. The course has left me feeling much more prepared to be of service in my community.

By Chris J C

May 11, 2018

I have ben involved in law enforcement and military in excess of 30 years. This course is new ground for most within these communities. As I am now a manager and "leader" of first responders, I have implemented programs to support staff in developing their own understanding of psychological first aid. This course will be one of the requirements It is a great introduction for those new members who may not have faced life challenges

By Mukund n s

May 21, 2021

Hello George sir,

Completed and achieve psychological first aid course module and certified.its my endeavour that attain this coursers certificate.this course and certificate is useful and extremely beneficial for us and implementation in pshychiatric pt. Comes at health center.once again to coursers and Dr george sir who project a good course module and thanks to J.Hopkins university that give the opportunity to join the course.

By Vathmi S

Dec 29, 2020

It's such a great program ! Hoping to join more online courses affiliated with John Hopkins University.A big thank should be given to the Professor George who's such a humble person to explain everything in detail manner and all the stimulations & quizzes are at it's best! Once again thank you for offering this opportunity for people who are in great curiosity about Psychology & it's process ........Much love from Sri Lanka !!!!!!

By Pustovit M V

Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for this course! As a person who studies psychological techniques on his own and is interested in this topic for personal development - for me it was fascinating to learn new knowledge, complementing the old ones. The presentation of the material is very well constructed, it is convenient to read and learn. The pleasant voice of the lecturer, communication with other students at the forum - everything was very successful.

By Matthew A

Mar 18, 2017

This course is excellent. I work as a security technician for a mental health hospital and took this to supplement the training I received for my job as well as to be able to offer support to others in disaster situations. While taking this course, I actually used some of the techniques I learned to intervene in crisis situations with patients at the mental health facility I work at and to successfully deescalate those situations.

By Jonathan S

May 19, 2020

PFA is a seemingly simple approach, to effect great change, where most needed. There is no need to wait for a named crisis event to apply PFA. The skills contained in this course can equally be applied to an individual in crisis.

As with all these Moodle courses, you get out what you can put in.

I thoroughly recommend this course to my network of friends. Who knows, one day someone might apply PFA skills to me in a time of need.

By Ina F

Nov 20, 2021

Incredible! Absolutely fascinating! I'm so happy I studied from Dr. George Everly. This course is MUST to have for everybody. I took a lot of courses from multiple universities and I have to say - this course is one of the best courses I ever studied. I'm eager to apply what I've learnt and will recommend this course to my friends and colleagues. Thank you very much, Dr. George Everly. It was a great pleasure learning from you.

By Sadia M

May 29, 2021

Simply excellent. This course will help you gain those vital skills in helping survivors of disasters/disturbing events as a frontline worker. It fills that crucial gap between when a disaster occurs and when longer-term psychological support is sought, hence the title - psychological first aid. I have learnt that PFA is so powerful that it could be enough for a survivor, and they may no longer require longer term intervention.

By Veronika D

Aug 20, 2019

The course is well curated with key concepts repeated multiple times - learning material is illustrated and supported by vignettes. The length of the lectures is very reasonable which allows for you to complete the course within 1-2 days - I find this useful because you are able to take in the RAPID method of psychological first aid as a whole and not in pieces.

The course delivers what it promised and I am happy that I took it.

By Bernadette B

Apr 7, 2023

While taking this course, I imagined dozens and dozens of scenarios where this amazing course will strengthen my communication and social emotional skills, support students and families, etc. The course is well done and provides real-life scenarios to help with understanding and reinforcement of the information. As an educator, this course should be mandatory for every educator, health care professional etc. Truly excellent!

By Walaa A

Jul 16, 2020

As a clinical psychology student, I am aware that reflective listening and empathetic language work like magic. The use of these two techniques can stabilize things and prevent them from getting worse. I am glad to be able to provide instant help without the need of digging deeper into the person's history, as well as being qualified to provide a long term assessment when needed. Thank you Coursera and doctor, George Everly.

By Gertrude M

Jun 29, 2022

I found the course enlightening and empowering.It has equipped me with the relevant skills to tackle crises without hesitation.It has enhanced my counselling skills as I am already incorporating some of the skills learnt.

For a first time online learner,the learning approach was very clear, understandable and flexible.

A big thank you to our presenters.

I will not hesitate to recommend anyone to enrol for any coursera courses

By Kiaralis V

Jul 27, 2020

As an undergraduate psychology student, this course on Psychological First Aid (PFA) has been invaluable. It has helped me to clearly distinguish the differences between PFA and long term clinical care. I look forward to using what I learned here both in my personal life and later on in the field as a professional. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning about PFA and how to implement it.

By Manuel M

Apr 4, 2023

Very hands-on! More than I expected. On one hand: everything in this course seems just common knowledge for empathic persons. On the other hand: the course gives a structured, evidence-based and complete guideline, that makes that encourages me not only following my empathic instincts but also to read more about PFA. Plus it corrected some of my views and therefore will prevent mistakes I might have done without the course.

By 3201 M K

Jul 6, 2023

I enjoyed the whole course.It was an amazing experience for me.The course content,the Video lectures,the simulation videos, everything was quite informative and during the course I felt like I am pursuing the course offline just like my college classes.Never felt like it was online.I am thankful to George sir,the instructor of the course,the university and the coursera to give me such opportunity to avail.Thankyou so much.

By Elena V

Apr 3, 2020

I found this course really interesting, useful, practical and with a very good level of teaching. I am an Italian psiotherapist ... and I can say that it was not taken for granted. In our healthcare system there is still no preparation in this regard: it is not certain that a good clinician is also prepared for an emergency. It served me to increase my skills in this regard. I have recommended the course to many colleagues

By martin m

Dec 15, 2022

From a non-health or psychology profession, but a dedicate or wanting to become first responders in emergency situation, this course is really really very helpful. It will basically help you understand the PFA in contrast to psychotherapy, counselling or health medication. You will be very proud that by learning PFA your role as first aider in an emergency response. Thank you for creating this learning opportunity for us.

By Shane B

Aug 18, 2020

The pace of the course was very well thought out. For someone who is neurodivergent and interested in psychology, this is a course that really helped in capturing interesting, but also consistently keeping that interest. If you're someone who lives in a disaster prone region, I definitely recommend taking this course, it builds self resilience, empathy and also helps you understand how you can help others during a crisis.

By Kunal D

Jul 26, 2020

Amazing course!!! I couldn't believe I completed my course having learning difficulty in the past my confidence went low its been 3 years since I've completed my MBA in media and entertainment and in the COVID situation during lockdown I learned something very new and thanks to Johns Hopkins University for giving me such amazing online learning. Hope to get a reply from your team! I would like to thanks Sir George Everly

By Victor S

Sep 9, 2016

Very interesting course, it took all of my attention for a while. The concepts are well defined and the classes were enjoyable (even though the slideshow itself was lacking images). The best part is surely the simulations that, besides being funny sometimes, could demonstrate really well the real life situations that one might participate. Overall, i feel like i can help someone in this situation way better than before.

By Jennifer P

Sep 2, 2023

This course was everything I was hoping for, I learned an enormous amount of information and can already feel it linking into my daily life.

My one remark would be, for this course and/or for workers using PFA, to consider adapting elements of the assessment, prioritisation, and intervention steps in particular, when working with neurodivergent survivors (autistic, adhd, and more), based on the neurodiversity paradigm.

By William H G

Aug 4, 2022

In my 30s-50s I volunteered as a Firefighter for 15 years serving variously as a professionally certified firefighter, EMT, officer, certified fire instructor and Chief. This course would have been very helpful to me in processing my own trauma, as well as serving those who I had come to help as they were having perhaps the worst day of their life. This should be a required course for all emergency services personnel.