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Psychological First Aid Training

Public Health England (PHE) have developed, and now launched, free Psychological First Aid training online in the United Kingdom. PFA training helps people with different needs cope with the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic (e.g. those supporting children).

COVID-19 Psychological First Aid (PFA) UK

Candidates can get access to the new PHE Psychological First Aid (PFA) online training course from the 22nd of February 2021.

In essence, the PFA training is for:

  • People who are taking care of, or working with, children.
  • Youngsters (up to the age of 25) affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) or by other individual crises or emergencies.

It is almost impossible to understate how much the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of children around the country.

In fact, many of the news stories about children reveal disturbing reports about the loneliness, stress, and worry that many are feeling.

Here’s the good news:

Public Health England have launched free mental health training through ‘FutureLearn‘ – a company striving to transform children’s education in the United Kingdom.

The free online training course teaches applicants how to provide practical and emotional support to children and youngsters affected by times of intense difficulty or danger.

Part of good parenting is understanding how resilient children and teenagers can be. Even so, getting the right support early on can greatly reduce the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

PHE Psychological First Aid training is available for:

  • All frontline workers (e.g. teachers).
  • Charity and community volunteers.
  • Health and social workers.
  • Others who care for children and young people below the age of twenty five (includes caregivers and parents).

Important: PFA training is free and the three separate sessions take around three (3) hours to complete. There is no prerequisite for having any previous workplace health and safety qualifications.

PFA Mental Health Training Topics

  • What is psychological first aid?
  • How do emergencies impact mental health?
  • The psychological first aid stages: Prepare, Look, Listen, Link
  • Supporting yourself and your colleagues
  • Example scenarios

After Completing PFA Training

People who complete COVID-19 Psychological First Aid training will be better equipped to identify children who are in distress. Hence, providing support will help kids feel safer and ‘connected’.

Participants will be better able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of Psychological First Aid (PFA).
  2. Identify who benefits from it and how it may help them.
  3. Recognise how to support themselves and their peers in crises.
  4. Engage with further research and reading into psychosocial support during times of hardship and emergencies.

Note: Another section contains more information about mental health and public health issues, and how they affect the most vulnerable people in society.

PFA Globally Recognised Training Programme

The primary aim of the PHE programme is to support people during serious emergencies or in the aftermath that follows.

Free Psychological First Aid training combines specialist advice from a range of experts in psychology and mental health problems, such as:

  • The Department for Education (DfE)
  • NHS England
  • The British Red Cross

PHE has already launched specialist training for COVID-19 in June 2020. That particular course received more than 100,000 sign-ups from people working in essential industries (e.g. frontline workers) and volunteers.

Important: The PFA course is not intended as a therapeutic intervention for individuals who are experiencing distress or crisis. Visit the NHS 111 website or contact the local GP instead.

Related News Articles and Help Guides

PHE Develops Free Online Psychological First Aid Training in the United Kingdom