Psychological First Aid 2.0 with English subtitles

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona) via Coursera

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Overview

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This is an English-language course that incorporates video content in Spanish with English subtitles. It is taught in Spanish by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Barcelona Crisis Centre, is designed to offer training in the application of Psychological First Aid (PFA) for individuals affected by highly stressful situations. The content covers both everyday emergencies (statistically frequent critical incidents that might affect people in a very intense way: traffic accidents, hospitalizations, assaults, traumatic or sudden death of a person, etc.) as well as community or mass emergencies (infrequent events which affect many people or an entire community and go far beyond what typically occurs in that setting: a natural disaster, a train accident, a plane crash or terrorist attacks). Who is this course for? A) General public, with specific protocols for children, adolescents, older adults, and individuals with mental disabilities. B) Professionals in healthcare, education, and social work. C) Managers of emergency response programs that focused on children, older adults, multi-problem groups, and individuals with disabilities. That includes local governments, religious leaders, law enforcement, and students who are preparing to practice all these professions. D) Volunteers working with trauma-exposed populations in collaboration with patient associations, self-help groups, NGOs, etc. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1) Learn to apply Psychological First Aid to individuals, families, and communities after a stressful everyday or large-scale event. 2) Understand how to adapt spaces for PFA delivery and reception of those affected and their relatives. 3) Gain training in the application of protocols for deactivation and recovery of those people who have been involved in the management of an emergency. START: October 7th, 2015

Syllabus

Welcome and Course information

Welcome to the MOOC on Psychological First Aid (PFA), brought to you by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Barcelona Crisis Centre. This course has been available since 2015 on the Coursera platform.
From day one, you’ll have access to all course materials organized into modules. While you are free to start with any module, we recommend that you begin with the welcome and general instructions pages, and then proceed through the modules in the suggested order. This structure is designed to help you understand the content most effectively.
You will find four types of materials in the course:
1) Each module begins with a video presentation and a work guide that outlines a recommended path through the content. We strongly encourage you to use this guide as your roadmap through the course.
2) In training videos, instructors and guest experts will explain various topics related to PFA. You’ll also find practical exercises, including role-playing scenarios, to demonstrate how to properly apply the techniques you learn, as well as common mistakes to avoid.
3) Downloadable readings that summarize and expand on the content covered in the videos, providing additional insight and examples.
4) At the end of each module, you’ll find a quiz with multiple-choice questions to test your understanding.
As you progress through the course, the platform will indicate which sections you've completed and which ones are still pending.
While watching the videos is optional, we recommend doing so before taking the quizzes.
Welcome, everyone!

1 - Definition and conditions for application

In this first teaching module, we will explore what Psychological First Aid (PFA) is and what this intervention technique is used for: what needs to be done to apply PFA, the phases involved in this technique, and where and how it should be implemented. At the end of this module, you will learn — in a practical way — the correct and incorrect ways to apply Psychological First Aid.
MODULE CONTENTS: a detailed work guide (please read it carefully), 7 educational videos, supporting PDF documents (found under “Additional Materials and Evaluation”), supplementary readings (including links or other documents, if available), and finally the module Quiz (Test 1), which you’ll need to complete in order to receive the course certificate.

2 - PFA for children up to 12 years of age

This module focuses on how to apply Psychological First Aid to specific age groups. At the end of the module, role-playing videos will help demonstrate proper and improper practices when applying PFAs with children. MODULE CONTENTS: a work guide (please read it carefully), 8 learning videos, supporting PDF documents (under "Additional materials and evaluation"), supplementary readings (including links or other documents, if available), and finally the module Quiz (Test 2), which you’ll need to complete in order to receive the course certificate.

3 - PFA in Adolescents and Adults

This module focuses on the specific aspects of applying Psychological First Aid (PFA) to adolescents (in the first part) and adults (in the second part).
MODULE CONTENTS: A Work Guide (please read it carefully), 9 learning videos, supporting PDF documents (found in “Additional Materials and Evaluation”), supplementary readings (including links or other documents, if available), and finally the module Quiz (Test 3), which you’ll need to complete in order to receive the course certificate.

4 - PFA in Particularly Vulnerable Groups

In this module, we explore how to adapt the Psychological First Aid (PFA) techniques learned so far for user groups with special needs. This includes working with individuals who are hearing-impaired and communicate only in sign language, as well as people with severe mental illness. We also address how PFA should be tailored depending on the nature of the critical event. This module features expert professionals who share their practical experiences through video lectures. These videos are in English and include Spanish subtitles.
MODULE CONTENTS: Work Guide (please read it carefully), 8 learning videos, supporting PDF documents (under "Additional materials and evaluation"), supplementary readings (including links or other documents, if available), and finally the module Quiz (Test 4), which you’ll need to complete in order to receive the course certificate.

5 - Self-care for responders

In this module, the focus shifts to you—the Psychological First Aid (PFA) responder. You will explore the concept of resilience and learn essential self-care strategies to maintain your well-being and professional effectiveness. This module also introduces protocols and techniques to support other responders, whether they are professionals or volunteers, who have been involved in managing critical incidents. The module concludes with a role-playing session to help you recognize and apply these self-care techniques in real-life scenarios. .
MODULE CONTENTS: a Work Guide (please read it carefully), 8 learning videos, supporting PDF documents (under "Additional materials and evaluation"), supplementary readings (including links or other documents, if available), and finally the module Quiz (Test 5), which you’ll need to complete in order to receive the course certificate.

Update 2025. War conflicts

In this module, we will explore how to adapt PFA techniques to user groups with special needs. We will study how interventions should be adapted when the affected people have lived through extreme situations such as bombings, forced displacements, or mass casualties. It includes a specific focus on working with children and adolescents in these contexts.
MODULE CONTENT: 4 learning videos.