I completed the Psychological First Aid Course today! Dr. George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, ABPP, FAPA, FACLP provides a straightforward research-based method for assisting people in distress. The course requires no prior psychology training because it is not intended to serve as a replacement for psychological therapy. Dr. Everly explains that it is simply the first point on the continuum of care.

I highly recommend this course! I learned that sometimes when we seek to solve a person’s problems, we make it harder for them to recover. Some people only need a person to provide a supportive and compassionate presence, and they will work through the recovery on their own.

I have really enjoyed this course. The content is very interesting and engaging. The only thing I struggled with was the lecture 8 triage simulation video. It was highly edited and fast and as it chopped up from person to person it was difficult to get a handle and really grapple with each individuals needs and thereby feel like I had simulated a triage consideration in any real sense.

I only wish I had had access to this when I previously worked with refugee's in crisis situations!

I am very grateful for the platform and would also add that it is a pleasure to work on the Coursera interface which makes the course more enjoyable and accessible. Many thanks.

I came across this course post lockdown in my country due to coronavirus. It seemed worth it for me to take this, not only to personally learn how to deal with the mental aspects of post disaster aid but also to help those around me to the best of my ability. I may not be a trained individual yet to deploy any psychological advice but this course has made a little more confident in my ability to at least listen and provide some support to my friends and the people around me in these trying times. The course is informative, insightful and well engaging for the amount of time that it was for. Thank you, Dr. George Everly, for being an amazing instructor! :)

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.

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!!!

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 ♥

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

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!

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!!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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 .

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!!

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 :)

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.

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!

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.