Chevron Left
Back to Psychological First Aid

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

Filter by:

101 - 125 of 4,521 Reviews for Psychological First Aid

By JOSE A P C

Aug 26, 2020

Soy jose Alberto Pech Chi y mi opinión del curso de los Primeros Auxilios Psicológicos nos muestra buenas herramienta y métodos de apoyo en acompañar a aquellas personas que se encuentran en escenarios de crisis y que tienen como objetivo el recuperar el equilibrio emocional, junto con prevenir la aparición de secuelas psicológicas, se aplica en el momento de una crisis para ayudar a los afectados a afrontar adecuadamente una situación traumática, evitando más secuelas de las necesarias. Están indicados para reducir el estrés inicial y promover las habilidades de afrontamiento y el funcionamiento adaptado de los afectados por un incidente crítico.

By Akshay J

May 21, 2020

This is probably the most informative, intellectual and useful courses i have done here so far. The videos are of perfect length. The quiz is moderately challenging which actually makes you study about the topic before attempting it. The course is planned beautifully, with simulations and videos which make understanding the topic more easy. And last but not the least, the amazing Tutor in Dr. George. This was one of those courses where i actually felt sad at the end of the course that Dr. George will not be teaching me next week. Surely one of the most prolific teachers I have ever had. Thank you Coursera and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health!!!

By Maria R J

Jul 24, 2020

Excellent course and excellent instructor. I highly recommend taking this course even if you do not work as a first responder. I absolutely love Dr Everly approach in teaching the appropriate way, and many ways we can fail to support others. Thank you Dr Everly for all the great information I am taking with me, thousands of little seeds that you have planted and I will water and attend as I interact in the communities I come across for the rest of my life. And especially, I am taking these words from you as my NEW daily morning reflection : "Do the best you can every day, and do it because you believe your presence really matters". Very grateful ♥

By Deleted A

Feb 1, 2016

Excellent Course. I wish there was more evaluations or points taken from the videos. Perhaps requirements to evaluate them, compare them and get observations form fellow students and teachers.

I noticed that George sometimes had no reaction to Gina n some of the videos and perhaps this was necessary in order to make sure he stood on neutral ground. Like to have had George's thought's on this.

Also perhaps one video going through the whole process from beginning to end would have helped show a complete model.

But this course is one of the best I have ever taken and I want to thank John Hopkins University and Coursera for providing it.

Jack Comer

By Katherine S

Mar 11, 2018

This may be the best course I've taken on coursera yet. Dr. Everly is a very engaging lecturer and he explains the details of the model very well; it was very easy to understand. The quizzes where of a very appropriate level of difficulty, and I have learned a lot from the course as a whole. I especially liked that he included a section on self care. That is definitely a big obstacle to face in this line of work. After the first couple of lectures, I started to feel like I would very much like to pursue opportunities to utilize this model and help others, even if I may not see the results while I'm there. Thank you for a wonderful course!

By Lisa B

Jul 21, 2020

4.5 STARS

Great course overall! The content was relevant and clear, the program format was well laid-out and the videos brought the content to life. Having the presenter notes below the slides was smart so that there is the option for learners to listen to and/or read the content.

With online studies, the options for testing with immediate feedback are very limited, but for me personally, I don't perform all that well with multiple choice.

Overall, I was pleased with the course and felt that the time put in was time well spent. If I am ever in the situation where this is needed, I feel prepared enough to jump in and help. Thank you!!

By Andrea M

Jun 21, 2020

Quality introduction to psychological first aid. The course offers simulated examples on what to versus what not to do when responding to someone in crisis, as well as concrete examples for how best to engage in conversation (reflective listening techniques), criteria for accurately assessing & prioritizing survivor needs, and techniques for how to engage / respond to people in a way that is not off-putting and can assist in their recovery process. There is an opportunity to test your assessment skills, but it would be nice to be able to actually practice these skills in person (or in real-time) under the supervision of the instructor.

By Anadela V Y

Jun 6, 2020

This is a well-organized specialized course. Dr. George Everly, Jr. is a very engaging instructor. It's certainly a privilege learning from the developer himself of Johns Hopkins University's RAPID Psychological First Aid (PFA) Model -- who's also an award-winning author and psychologist/researcher and who's had decades of fieldwork in helping and educating people, communities, mental health practitioners, and first responders worldwide. The tests in this course are also challenging enough and I'm proud to have completed this course. Here's a wealth of knowledge and information on the principles and applications of PFA. Thank you!

By Rachel D C

May 19, 2020

This course is full of practical information for anyone who desires to be better equipped to serve those in need during emergencies. The course is designed for everyone, so students do not need any formal training in mental health services or disaster preparedness to benefit from it. The RAPID model of Psychological First Aid is useful and easy to understand. The lecture videos are clear, and the simulations are very helpful to see what PFA looks like in practice. This is a great introduction to a needed skill that one can build upon later. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Thank you Dr. Everly for offering this course!

By Wilailuk N

Oct 27, 2020

I love this course because right now people using a lot of digital and high technology to connect to social media and many apps. about this case make people away from family relationship and each person there have them friends groups, parents have friends the same ages, children have a group of friends also.

it is make love away from family even siting eating in the same table but each person still looking at the phone. These things be came to sick of sadness syndrome, many case decide to suicide.

After I learn this course I clearly understand situations and I am happy to listen active about this case to assistant them.

By Dr.Deepthi B

Jun 12, 2021

Hi I am a social psychologist. I am always eager to learn new knowledge. When I came to this course, I got caught up with the title itself. I thought first aid to psychological injuries is the best prevention. The professor who taught this course, explained more heart-warming way than I could ever expect. His explanations and write-up are thought provoking. I never have seen in my academic career such a beautiful explanation about all that cares more when a disaster strucks people. I learnt about guilt and its types. This course is all that makes you feel that being alive as a human can bring difference in others lives.

By Gary D P

May 20, 2020

This course is vital for people to take. Especially if you are already a first responder or thinking about training to be one. You won't complete it and leave knowing the psychological methods and teachers of the discipline. What you will leave with is exactly what the title tells you. The ability to help others in a crisis situation. Will you be an expert? Most likely not.

But first aid is rarely about being perfect. First aid is about being the first available option that can help. The course from the very start explains what it is and what it's here for. This course is perfect for the current situation in the world.

By Abby N

Jul 23, 2020

Dr. Everly is a compelling and compassionate professor in his lectures, with a clear mastery and advanced level of experience that he shares. This course is balanced and helpful. It stresses that it is geared to those with no experienced in Psych, and it lives up to that name. I think this should be a mandatory course for any first responder. My only critique is that I would like optional advanced readings to be included for more in-depth readings, and I suggest that some kind of warning or debrief should be connected to the San Francisco fire video, as it may trigger traumatic response in some students. Great course!

By Korie A B

Jun 5, 2017

I can't say enough good things about Dr. GS Everly Jr's course on Psychological First Aid: RAPID PFA. His teaching style made this course a breeze. I was able to gain a new understanding in how to help victims/survivors in the wake of disaster. His tone throughout the course helped to remind me that we are there to support these survivors and not label them with a mental health diagnosis (which is easy to do when you have a mental health worker background.) I feel confident in my abilities to help survivors in the wake of disaster after taking this course. Thank you Dr. Everly! I truly enjoyed taking this course.

By James M G

Feb 28, 2021

Excellent online programmed learning. Your learning will be enhanced by not cramming lessons together. Schedule time to reflect and apply concepts to your experiences. Taking the course with others and discussing items and videos will help you learn and apply concepts to real life situations. The full simulation video at the beginning of the course is worth more than one viewing before proceeding. Also, watch the third week extended disaster interviews several times (especially with others and share ideas). The course is well structured introduction, as well as, a good refresher for those who know about PFA.

By Deleted A

Feb 21, 2021

This was an excellent course. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go into crisis intervention as a basic educational foundation to begin with learning. The course was not too heavy on studying. It was not an overwhelming amount of work, yet I was still fascinated with the material, never bored, always interested and hungered for more. It really helped me determine that this is the right field for me. Johns Hopkins provided a wonderful class. Thank you so much to George Everly, Jr. PhD. for being such an excellent teacher, motivator and someone to look up to, as you've been in the field for years!

By Parvathy s n

May 28, 2022

It was a great experience learning about the psychological factors affecting the mental health status and how to help the people who are suffering from this despair.it also talks about different techniques that is very useful for treatment of others and also talks about self care which is really useful for ourselves as well. the assessments are also very useful and deadlines are also very friendly and the duration of each lectures are also very good not very hectic which is good . this course have been very useful for me in terms of mental health and well being i am glad that i joined this course .

By María A C G

May 7, 2020

This course given by Dr. George Everly has been very interesting.

It has helped me a lot to gain a whole view on the best way to help others when they are facing psychological distress situations. This can help me on my work environment.

I am happy to know some techniques which can help me help others.

The way Dr. George Everly explains the contents of the course is beautiful, easy to understand. Even the tone of his voice makes easy to follow him and listening to him.

The fact that there are transcripts helped me a lot incase I would not understand something (my mother tongue is not English).

Thank you!!

By Amanda L

Apr 25, 2020

I thought this course was thoroughly enjoyable! I learned a lot from the lectures with Dr. Everly and felt like I gained an overall perspective on PFA to use in my career field with crisis intervention. I would have preferred to have a few more options for choosing examples throughout the lectures and videos to quiz myself as I went through the modules, but that is a particular improvement that can be made. The quizzes were appropriately difficult and I thought this quick course provided a good understanding of PFA. I finished it within a few days because of how interesting the topic was! Recommend :)

By Rebecca L W

Nov 19, 2016

This course is easy to follow with a mix of resources making it engaging and inspiring. I found the RAPID PFA model to be an effective and proactive response to dealing with adverse situations. It is very interesting to learn that this technique is found to be more effective than that of a series of post disaster psychotherapy, so this can be taught to non medical aid workers and possibly alleviate some of the sometimes unnecessary strain on medical and/or psychological resources. It is all about going back to basics, a need to reach out to others and a need to communicate and not suffer in silence.

By Julio C N I

Feb 4, 2016

I'm a newly graduated psychologist and this course had surprised me for some factors. It had broken a paradigm that the PFA it's not therapy! I had a idea that PFA was a sort of psychoteraphy, but I have learned that is not true. Some topics have helped me to better internalize psychology concepts more consciously like the reflective listening that is crucial for any type of mental health intervention.

I was surprised when I saw the study where it was proven that the PFA it's more effective than multisession psychoteraphy. Well, it was a course where I had a huge learning.

Thank you teacher Everly!

By Shusmita M

Jun 2, 2021

Psychological First Aid course was very helpful to learn do's and don't as well as the limitation and possibilities of help and support that one can provide during crisis events. Coming from non- medicine background, beside crisis i feel PFA training should be taken by all educators and upper level management, this will definitely make significant changes in respective field. The class lectures and videos are very clear. i liked the way professor George S. Everly, Jr. engages the students. Thank you John Hopkins University team and Coursera for sharing this knowledge and making a difference.

By Yuliya S

May 20, 2020

I am really gratful for this course. It's been a great pleasure to listen to Dr. George Everly. He really passed his compassion, indifference and huge experience in this course.

The example videos were very helpful, you can really see how to use this or that element of the approach.

As well as the examples of what not to do.

The course gives a good view on what people are going through during disasters and other difficult times and on the ways of assisting in these situations.

Thank you for the course again!

I recommend it to everyone, because many elements of it are useful even in everyday life.

By Katharina R

Jan 18, 2021

The course helped me a lot to actually gain active guidance in how to apply PFA in an emergency of any kind to someone. I was positively impressed by the first video in this course that showed a full First Aid conversation with a person in distress. I immediately noticed that the teacher in this video the one providing the conversational first Aid is follwowing a certain line of rules and methods. These methods have been presented in this course and opened my eyes further on how I can use it in daily life situations. Thanks for the introduction in making a change for myself and others.

By Eva B

Mar 29, 2022

Dear Coursera Team,

It's a pity I am lacking the words to express my feelings of gratitude and excitement about this course, while I've learnt many new ones from it :) Yet I say one word that would describe this course at its best. The word I have known for a long time and could not translate into my native language - Russian. The word is EMPOWEREMENT. This is what this course is about. I am very lucky to have taken this course. I know I will grow and empower others to overcome one of the greatest tragedies of our people - the large-scale invasion of Russia to Ukraine.

Thank you.

Eva.