What is the difference between this and Psychological First Aid?

Scope and hours. This short course is about recognizing and managing stress in yourself, one online module plus about two hours in class. The full Psychological First Aid course is twelve hours and teaches you to support other people in distress. Start here for a team wellbeing session; take PFA if you are the person others turn to.

How does the online part work?

Access to the Self-Care online module is included in your fee and arranged with your registration. It takes forty-five to ninety minutes, self-paced, and it must be completed before your classroom session.

How long is the certification valid?

One year, set by the Canadian Red Cross. That is deliberate: a self-care plan is meant to be revisited, and the course is built to be retaken rather than formally recertified.

Is there an age requirement?

The Red Cross recommends sixteen and older. Considering it for a younger group? Ask us first and we will give you a straight answer.

Can you run this for our team or workplace?

Yes, and it is honestly the best fit for this course: one classroom session fits a staff meeting slot, and we deliver onsite for an additional fee across Alberta and beyond. Tell us your team size and setting.

When is the next public date?

There is no publicly scheduled date yet, so register your interest and tell us your timing. Enough interest at once is genuinely how the next date gets scheduled.

Is this therapy or counselling?

No. It is a structured education course about stress and self-care, built on the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model. It does not diagnose, treat or replace professional mental health support, and the session will say so plainly.

Why are there two facilitators?

A Red Cross standard for the Psychological First Aid program. If the material lands close to home for someone, one facilitator can step aside with them while the session continues for everyone else.

Canadian Red Cross

Self-Care & Wellness in Calgary

The short course of the Canadian Red Cross Psychological First Aid program: how stress, loss and crisis actually affect you, and how to build a self-care plan structured enough to survive contact with a bad month. A short online module first, then one classroom session. If the twelve-hour Psychological First Aid course is more than your team needs, this is the honest starting point.

Tell me when a date opens$80.00 + GST & applicable taxes

Course details

Certificate: Canadian Red Cross Self-Care & Wellness
Certificate valid for: No recertification period applies to this course
Issued by: Canadian Red Cross
Duration: 45 to 90 minutes online, plus 1.5 to 2 hours in class
Format: Blended (online module, then in-person in Calgary)
Prerequisites: Recommended for ages 16 and up. The Psychological First Aid Self-Care online course is part of this course and must be completed before the instructor-led session.
Recertification: The Red Cross Program Standards list recertification as not applicable for Self-Care and Wellness.
Price: $80.00 + GST & applicable taxes (charged at checkout for your province)

Upcoming dates, choose your cohort

We teach this course and run it regularly. There is no public date open right now, and we won’t show one until it’s real.

What you’ll be able to do

Recognize how stress, loss and crisis show up in yourself, early
Name your own stress signals instead of discovering them late
Build a self-care plan structured enough to survive a bad month
Use the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model on yourself
Know the difference between self-care and avoidance, honestly
Leave with a shared language your whole team can use
Hold a one-year certification that expects to be renewed, by design
Know when the full Psychological First Aid course is the right next step

How the blended format works

This course comes in two parts, in a fixed order. First, the Canadian Red Cross Self-Care online module, forty-five to ninety minutes, self-paced, completed before you come in. Access to it is included in your fee: we arrange it with your registration, so nobody shows up missing the half they could not have known about, and nobody pays twice.

Then the classroom session: roughly two hours, instructor-led, built around the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model. The online module gives you the language; the session is where it turns into a plan you would actually follow.

Because this sits inside the Psychological First Aid program, sessions run with two facilitators. That is a Red Cross standard for this material, and it exists so that if the content lands close to home for someone, one facilitator can step aside with them while the session keeps going.

What you leave with

A structured self-care plan is the deliverable: not a poster about bubble baths, but an honest map of your own stress signals and what you have decided in advance to do about them. People who work in emergency services, health care, teaching and child care tend to recognize immediately why deciding in advance is the whole point.

On completion you earn a Canadian Red Cross Self-Care & Wellness certification, valid for one year. The one-year period is the Red Cross's, and it is deliberate: a self-care plan is meant to be revisited, not laminated.

If what you actually need is the skills to support other people in distress, that is the full Psychological First Aid course, twelve hours, and its page explains the difference honestly.

Who this suits

Teams first: this course is built for a staff room. Emergency services, health care, schools, child care, social services, and any workplace that has had a hard year and knows it. One classroom session fits inside a staff meeting slot, and the shared language it leaves behind is half the value.

Individuals are welcome on public dates. If you have noticed that your own warning lights have been on for a while, this is a structured, unembarrassing place to start.

There is no publicly scheduled date at the moment, so the button on this page registers your interest. If you are asking for a team, tell us the size and the setting, and we will tell you honestly what is workable and when.

Registering, and how to prepare

Register with your legal name spelled the way your certification should read. After you register we confirm the online module details with you; complete it before the classroom date, because the session assumes it.

There is nothing physical to prepare for: this is a discussion course, not a floor course. Bring something to write with, and whatever honesty about your own workload you can spare.

The recommended minimum age is sixteen. If you are considering it for a younger group, ask us first and we will give you a straight answer.

Who this course is for

Teams in emergency services, health care and social services
Teachers, school staff and child care workers
Managers who watched their team have a hard year
Workplaces adding a wellbeing session that is more than a poster
Volunteers in crisis-adjacent roles
Responders who train with us and know the job follows you home
Anyone whose own warning lights have been on for a while
HR and safety leads building a mental health component into training

Where we teach this course

We teach this course in Calgary and Leduc. No public dates are posted at the moment.

We also deliver this course at your worksite for groups, useful for crews who can’t release staff to travel. Onsite delivery carries an additional fee on top of per-person pricing. Request an onsite quote.

We travel for private and group training across Canada, and internationally by arrangement. If you’re outside Alberta, tell us where you are and we’ll price it.

Common questions

What is the difference between this and Psychological First Aid?: Scope and hours. This short course is about recognizing and managing stress in yourself, one online module plus about two hours in class. The full Psychological First Aid course is twelve hours and teaches you to support other people in distress. Start here for a team wellbeing session; take PFA if you are the person others turn to.
How does the online part work?: Access to the Self-Care online module is included in your fee and arranged with your registration. It takes forty-five to ninety minutes, self-paced, and it must be completed before your classroom session.
How long is the certification valid?: One year, set by the Canadian Red Cross. That is deliberate: a self-care plan is meant to be revisited, and the course is built to be retaken rather than formally recertified.
Is there an age requirement?: The Red Cross recommends sixteen and older. Considering it for a younger group? Ask us first and we will give you a straight answer.
Can you run this for our team or workplace?: Yes, and it is honestly the best fit for this course: one classroom session fits a staff meeting slot, and we deliver onsite for an additional fee across Alberta and beyond. Tell us your team size and setting.
When is the next public date?: There is no publicly scheduled date yet, so register your interest and tell us your timing. Enough interest at once is genuinely how the next date gets scheduled.
Is this therapy or counselling?: No. It is a structured education course about stress and self-care, built on the Red Cross Look, Listen, Link, Live model. It does not diagnose, treat or replace professional mental health support, and the session will say so plainly.
Why are there two facilitators?: A Red Cross standard for the Psychological First Aid program. If the material lands close to home for someone, one facilitator can step aside with them while the session continues for everyone else.

Cancellation, transfer, and refund terms are shown before payment and confirmed at registration. Not sure which course fits? Email us and we’ll help.

Sources

On successful completion you receive a Canadian Red Cross Self-Care & Wellness certification. Canadian Red Cross (verified 2026-07-23).

← All courses · Last reviewed 2026-08-01