Introducing Psychological First Aid!

The Canadian Red Cross has just launched their new Psychological First Aid Program!

The Red Cross designed Psychological First Aid to promote resiliency and reduce the impact of loss and trauma. It provides knowledge and skills for people to live life through understanding stressors and traumas that impact them. It helps participants understand how to recognize when someone else is experiencing distress and how to offer help.

This is such an important program, and really rounds out anyone’s first aid skills. Anyone providing (or receiving) first aid should be aware of self-care and develop skills to cope with stressors.

The program includes 3 participant level courses. Psychological First Aid – Self-Care and Psychological First Aid – Caring for Others are online courses. Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a classroom-based course.

Through the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model, participants will build a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss and grief, and how to develop skills for self-care (helping individuals understand personal protective factors).

Psychological First Aid – Self Care

This online course assists learners in developing a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma and grief. Learners will be introduced to the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model and will learn how to cope with the effects of various types of stress. This course can be taken in combination with the Red Cross Caring for Others online course to supplement and strengthen an overall wellness program.

Red Cross recommends that learners be at least 14 years of age or have the support of an adult.

At the end of the online module, participants must successfully complete the test. Participants that do not achieve 100% can review the module content and try as many times as necessary to advance and complete the course.

This course should take about 45 to 90 minutes to complete.

To sign up for this online course, click here.

Psychological First Aid – Caring for Others

This online course is very similar to the Self Care module, with an emphasis on applying the skills learned towards caring for other people.

Like the Self-Care module, Red Cross recommends participants be at least 14 years of age or have the support of an adult throughout the course. The course itself should take between 45 and 90 minutes to complete.

To sign up for this online course, click here.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) – In Class

If you’re not as tech-savvy, or just prefer a more in-depth, guided course that takes place in a classroom with other real people, there is also an 8-hour Psychological First Aid course you can take at one of our training centers.

If you want, do the two online courses ahead of time to give you a leg up. You can also just come as you are and start from the beginning.

This course is great for anyone dealing with people often, especially people dealing with stress regularly. As you know, this can take a toll on your own mental health, and self-care (not just supporting your clients) is so important.

To take a look at our course schedules, click here.

Private/Group Courses

As with any of our courses, if you or your organization has a group of people who could benefit from a Psychological First Aid course, just let us know.  We teach private courses all over Vancouver Island, and can come to you. Give us a call at 1-866-282-5378 or send us an email at info@alertfirstaid.com for more details.