Mental health issues have come to the forefront since the global pandemic has locked us in our homes. People are realizing the importance of brain health as much as body health. In light of growing distress around the world, John Hopkins University has decided to give a free psychological first aid course.
They aim to help people suffering from emotional trauma, anxiety, or depression. Over 200,000 people have currently signed up for this free online psychological first aid course. And thousands of students have already completed it from across the globe. Not just that, this course also enjoys the title of being one of the students’ favorite.
The classes are chaired by one of the leading psychologists Dr. George S. Everly. He has co-authored The John Hopkins Guide To Psychological First Aid and is one of the founding members of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
Mental health issues have become one of the most common yet overlooked issues in modern times. The popularity of this course speaks for itself.
Dr. George S. Everly, now 70 years old, gives great value to intervention in mental crises and believes in the power of human resilience. He is also a professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr.George Everly is an expert at psychological affairs as he has spent nearly 40 years researching the implications of psychological disasters. He has also traveled around the world while researching and lecturing.
The classes are divided on an hourly basis. The first is a duration of 39 minutes and the second is a duration of 2 hours. This psychological first aid course stretches for around 5 weeks. It covers minute things such as reflecting listening to larger issues such as responding to and prioritizing life-threatening psychological cases.
To be more specific, this course follows and covers the RAPID psychological response model, created by Dr. George Everly himself. The term “RAPID” is an acronym for “reflective listening, “assessment of needs”, “prioritization”, “intervention”, and “disposition.” It’s a series of action plans that one needs to have to deal with severe mental health conditions.
The description box of psychological first aid in Coursera explains that the course focuses on traumas and injuries that are not physical and provides different perspectives on treating them. They further add that the RAPID psychological response model is suited to any environment, from a professional setting to a personal setting. It can be applied for military personnel, people who have survived disasters, and even those dealing with the aftermath of robberies, homicide, accidents, suicide, or domestic violence.
The psychological first aid is an extremely effective tool in promoting community and personal resilience.
