Psychological First AidMINDFIELD PSYCHOLOGY · 8 TOPICS · JOHNS HOPKINS RAPID

Psychological First Aid

Calm, practical, humane support for people in acute distress after a crisis or disaster. This module teaches the Johns Hopkins RAPID model (Everly & Lating) — Rapport, Assessment, Prioritisation, Intervention, Disposition. Pick a topic below; each opens its own detailed page with an interactive, worked explanations, an "explain it simply" box, and a self-test.

1
Foundations

What Psychological First Aid Is

PFA as the emotional parallel of physical first aid — supportive, not therapy. Who delivers it, WHO's Look–Listen–Link, and the Johns Hopkins RAPID model. Interactive RAPID strip.

Open topic →
2
Human reactions

Reactions You'll Encounter

Common consequences of trauma — and the key idea that most acute reactions are normal distress, not disorder. Distress vs red-flag dysfunction. Interactive sorter.

Open topic →
3
Context

The Disaster Context

Types of disaster — natural, technological, human-made, and war — and the factors that make the psychological impact more severe. Interactive severity explorer.

Open topic →
4
RAPID · R

R — Rapport & Reflective Listening

Connectedness as the platform for everything else, the empathic cascade, and reflective-listening micro-skills. Interactive good-vs-poor response picker.

Open topic →
5
RAPID · A

A — Assessment: The Story

Screening and appraisal by listening to the story, and the five indicia — cognitive, emotional, behavioural, spiritual, physiological — with distress vs dysfunction. Interactive indicia sorter.

Open topic →
6
RAPID · P

P — Prioritisation (Triage)

Psychological triage, the Crisis Triad, and the A-B-C model for allocating scarce time and help. Interactive triage sorter with short cases.

Open topic →
7
RAPID · I

I — Intervention: Stabilise

Explanatory and anticipatory guidance, gentle reframing, stress management and diaphragmatic breathing, hope and support — with clear cautions. Interactive helpful-vs-unhelpful toggle.

Open topic →
8
RAPID · D

D — Disposition & Self-Care

Where to go from here — encourage, connect, follow up, refer — and caring for the helper: burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and a self-care plan. Interactive self-care checklist.

Open topic →
💡 How to use this module: the eight topics follow the RAPID model in order (topics 4–8 are R, A, P, I, D). Study one at a time; each page ends with a quick self-test and an "explain it simply" box. Tone note: this material covers crisis and trauma — where risk to self or others appears, the guidance is always to assess and refer to professional or emergency services.
PFA is emotional first aid. If someone falls and scrapes a knee, you don't perform surgery — you calm them, clean the wound, and help them reach a doctor if needed. PFA does the same after a shock or disaster: keep the person safe, help them settle, meet urgent needs, and connect them to more help. RAPID is just the checklist for doing that well: build a Rapport, do an Assessment, Prioritise who needs help most, Intervene gently, and sort out Disposition (next steps).

🎴 Flashcards

Tap a card to flip.

📝 Quick quiz

📁 Case studies

Sources
Core text: Everly, G. S. & Lating, J. M. (2017), The Johns Hopkins Guide to Psychological First Aid, Johns Hopkins University Press — source of the RAPID model.
Field guide: World Health Organization, War Trauma Foundation & World Vision International (2011), Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers, WHO — source of the Look · Listen · Link approach.
← Back to all subjects