The effect of a single session of psychological first aid in the emergency department on PTSD and depressive symptoms three months post-intervention: results of a randomised controlled trial.

Despite its popularity, evidence of the effectiveness of Psychological First Aid (PFA) is scarce. To assess whether PFA, compared to psychoeducation (PsyEd), an attention placebo control, reduces PTSD and depressive symptoms three months post-intervention. In two emergency departments, 166 recent-trauma adult survivors were randomised to a single session of PFA (= 78) (active listening, breathing retraining, categorisation of needs, assisted referral to social networks, and PsyEd) or stand-alone PsyEd ( = 88).