Psychological First Aid

The Canadian Red Cross Psychological First Aid program is about taking care of yourself - your thoughts, feelings and emotions when you have experienced stress, crisis or trauma - and then being there for family, friends and community when they are having difficulty coping.

Learn how to anticipate stress and crisis whenever possible and equip yourself with the skillset to practice self-care and to provide care for others during particularly challenging times. Unlike mental health first aid, which trains people how to help someone during a mental health emergency, Red Cross Psychological First Aid teaches you how to build up resiliency to stress and establish coping strategies for stress and trauma.

Two Psychological First Aid courses are available online to learn at your own pace: Self-Care and Caring for Others. In both these courses, learn the impact of stress, trauma, and grief while developing useful tools for handling difficult situations. These online courses are quick, accessible and practical, equipping you with skills you can use in daily life.

The instructor-led Psychological First Aid course is more substantive and flexible, and will help you gain a deeper understanding of the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model - this means having awareness that there is a problem, listening to yourself or others, and linking to resources in your community so you can live fully.

You'll also learn Psychological First Aid using the principle of Do No Harm, which refers to the unintentional harm that may be caused to those who are meant to benefit from your intervention.