Psychological First Aid for Mental Health and Crisis
As it is known, Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-informed approach for assisting all the population in the aftermath of a critical event. PFA ameliorates symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and prevents post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The main goal of this course is to train the students in the application of PFA on both massive and daily emergencies. That enables them to become a community health worker prepared to cope with highly stressful situations everywhere. After the training, the students will be able to understand why a crisis has an impact on persons, families, and communities. They will also be able to boost both, the coping skills, and the resilience.
Important Notice on Course Suitability and Activities:
Some Summer School courses are designed for students with prior academic background in a specific discipline and may be unsuitable for participants without that preparation.
In addition, certain courses include discipline-standard practical activities (for example, laboratory work with biological specimens, dissections, use of clinical or forensic material, field sampling, or other hands-on procedures) that may be unfamiliar or unsettling for some participants.
Students are responsible for reading the course descriptor carefully and ensuring (i) that they meet any stated academic expectations or prerequisites, and (ii) that they are comfortable participating in the methods and activities described.
If you are unsure about suitability, please contact the course lecturer(s) before enrolling.
| Week | Contents | Teaching / learning activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Definition of Acute and Post-traumatic Stress and Psychological First Aid. Aims and application of PFA. Patterns of response in the aftermath of a critical event. |
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| 2 |
PFA for children. PFA for teenagers and adults. Risk factors. Protective factors. PFA as part of preventive monitoring. |
|
| 3 |
Psycho-education skills. Group techniques. Self-care techniques for responders. The importance of a correct triage process. Other considerations applying PFA. |
|
From Monday to Friday.
From 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Outputs and exercises that the student is going to do to have the qualification. Including deadlines.
This course is based on the continuous evaluation, that is, throughout the three weeks we will generate evidence that at the end will lead to the final grade.
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Almost every morning we will first do a short test to help us to check if we should revisit certain concepts. The average grade of these tests makes 35% of the final grade.
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During the course, the students will apply the proposed competencies to an incident of multiple victims, based on real situations proposed by the professors. We will do written exercises, we will solve challenges and role-playings and the average of these contributions will make 30% of the final grade.
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The final evaluation will consist of the complete design of the best possible intervention in a given crisis and the presentation of that design in front of the group of colleagues of the same course in a final seminar. This is a group work and will make the 35% of the final grade. This final evaluation will be presented to all other students on the final day of the course.
- Minihan, E., Gavin, B., Kelly, B. D., & McNicholas, F. (2020). Covid-19, Mental Health and Psychological First Aid. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
- Montenegro, P., & Cabello, R. (2019). Manual ABCDE para la aplicación de Primeros Auxilios Psicológicos 1a Edición, 70.
- Vernberg, E. M., Steinberg, A. M., Jacobs, A. K., Brymer, M. J., Watson, P. J., Osofsky, J. D., … Ruzek, J. I. (2008). Innovations in Disaster Mental Health: Psychological First Aid. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(4), 381–388.
- World Health Organization. (2011). Psychological First Aid - Guide for field workers. Who, 44(8), 813.
Ingeborg Porcar: Psychologist (Ph.D), Accreditation in Clinical Psychology and Crisis Management, Associated Professor at UAB, Founder and Director of the UTCCB, a Trauma, Crisis and Conflict Center at the Faculty for Psychology at UAB.
- E-mail: ingeborg.porcar@uab.cat
Alicia Álvarez Garcia: PhD in clinical Psychology and a specialization on emergencies, catastrophes, and urgencies as well as in PTSD and trauma. She has 11 years of experience both on clinical practice and crisis response management. Currently she is the Care&Research director at the UTCCB from UAB and combines this position with her job as lecturer in different universities as Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Politècncia de Barcelona, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and the Harvard Medical School from Boston.
- E-mail: aalvarez@utccb.net
- Department of Psychology