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If you want practical tools to reduce burnout, strengthen your culture, and build your team’s resilience, without waiting for the next crisis, you’re in the right place.
The Case for Resilience
Most organisations try to fix culture without first addressing the conditions that are wearing their people down. They invest in wellbeing programs, refresh their values, and run leadership workshops, and wonder why nothing sticks. The reason is simple. You can’t build on an overwhelmed system.
Resilience is the foundation. When your people understand how to manage their nervous system, support the people around them, and recover well, everything else becomes possible. The culture work lands. The leadership training sticks. The performance follows. This is where the work starts, and it’s where Emotive Work begins.
Emotive Work delivers accredited resilience training in Sydney and across Australia, grounded in the PR6 Resilience Model, a peer-reviewed framework built on neuroscience and used by over 500 clinicians globally. Our programs range from a two-hour introduction through to full Resilience First Aid (RFA) certification, giving organisations a clear and scalable pathway to build resilience as a genuine capability.
Why Resilience First Aid?
Only 1 in 10 people have resilience that’s strong enough to protect against mental illness. This means 9 out of 10 of people can benefit from increasing resilience skills to boost protection against depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental ill-health.
50% of people will experience a period of mental illness in their life, but only two thirds will feel confident to talk about it with someone they trust.
In Australia, the mental health crisis costs somewhere between $43 billion and $51 billion per year, while a further $130 billion is the cost of the loss in productivity due to the mental health issues.
This is why we need to take a preventative approach to mental health. Rather than waiting until people need professional treatment, we can start supporting each other to connect and build mental wellness proactively.
RFA Certification improves resilience and peer support skills.
Proactive mental health builds personal capacity that can help an individual avoid various mental health problems. It can also identify issues much earlier and prevent costs to the individual, the community, and society at large. Proactive mental health is more affordable and accessible and comes with more benefits than reactive mental illness treatment.
When we care earlier for the mental wellbeing of our friends, family, and colleagues, we can start to shift this global trend. This means we bring forward mental health intervention and we focus on building strengths in ourselves and each other – protective factors that prevent depression and mental illness through improved resilience and wellbeing.
This is proactive mental health.
What is Resilience First Aid?
Resilience First Aid (RFA) is a 2-day mental health certification that teaches strength-based skills to support resilience in others and build meaningful relationships. You will learn how to spot signs of low resilience in others, learn the language to talk proactively to people in need, and learn skills to help build their resilience. This makes Resilience First Aid a highly proactive approach to suicide prevention through building meaningful connections and skills to have impactful conversations.
Many people don't know what protects mental health, how to talk about it and what resources and skills are available. This is what Resilience First Aid will teach you.
Members of the public can offer proactive first aid/advice and have a conversation to help build resilience.
Many people don’t realise how important their mental health is until they are suffering, and it affects their everyday life. We need to act now.
The Resilience
First Aid Approach
This is a new approach to put trained mental health champions in place who actively boost the resilience and mental health in their communities. The course does so by teaching an effective conversational method called the ALL Protocol, followed by a detailed understanding of the six domains of resilience, skills and functional features of each to notice in others, as well as practical language tools to have meaningful conversations.
In addition, participants are given access to ongoing tools and assessments to explore and build their own resilience to create sustainability of the teachings, alongside resources that help facilitate conversations and build awareness.
The skills learned through Resilience First Aid apply to all relationships - with family, with friends, with colleagues, and all other interactions. The ALL Protocol taught through the certification is highly useful and applicable in everyday life, with participants frequently experiencing daily occurrences where they notice themselves using the ALL Protocol. It’s simple, easy to remember, and builds relationships through a strength-based approach.
Participants also learn self-care tools to build their capacity to sustainably support both themselves and others, avoiding burnout and compassion fatigue. Through a comprehensive integration of materials, resources and training, Resilience First Aid provides a unique and neuroscience-based approach to proactively protect mental health.
The Six Domains of Resilience
The Research Supporting Resilience First Aid
Resilience First Aid (RFA) is built on the peer-reviewed Predictive 6 Factor Resilience Model (PR6), a comprehensive whole-body and brain resilience model that includes a validated psychometric assessment and detailed skills to proactively build resilience.
The PR6 model and skills-building approaches are used in research at various universities, including Harvard, University of San Francisco, Northwestern University, Boise State University, Northeastern University, Boston University, Coventry University, UNSW, and more. Over 500 clinicians and mental health practitioners also use the PR6 assessment and training in their practices as a validated approach. The PR6-based Driven Resilience training program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE), recognising the program’s leading approach in bringing the latest science-backed developments as a practical course that anyone can learn.
Ongoing research and peer-reviewed validation of the model and resilience training program have established the PR6 as a leading model and program with clinical effectiveness in building resilience as a proactive approach for mental health.
Not only does the Driven Resilience program build important skills for EMS practitioners, the use of microtask learning represents an important innovation in the delivery of continuing education.
Mark Terry, Chief Certification Officer
Research Findings on Resilience First Aid
Recent research conducted in 2024 further supports the efficacy of the RFA program. A pilot evaluation study demonstrated that RFA training significantly increases both personal resilience and peer support skills. Key findings from the study include:
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Increase in Personal Resilience and Peer Support Skills: The study observed a 10.2% increase in personal resilience and an 11.3% increase in peer support skills immediately following the training, with these improvements persisting at the 4-week follow-up. The study utilised the PR6 scale, the New Helping Attitude Scale (NHAS), and the Mental Health Peer Support Questionnaire (MHPSQ) to measure changes.
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Enhanced Interpersonal Skills and Composure: The most substantial improvements were noted in Interpersonal Skills (21.9% increase), Composure (17.2% increase), and Tenacity (14.7% increase) at the 4-week follow-up.
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Suicide Prevention Skills: Participants' ability to recognise suicide warning signs improved by 33.3%, highlighting RFA's potential as a vital tool in suicide prevention efforts. The training also enhanced participants' capacity to identify and reduce stigma (9.0% increase).
These findings underscore the potential of RFA as a primary preventative program designed to enhance peer support skills and mitigate suicide risks through a strength-based approach. By focusing on building interpersonal skills and understanding suicide warning signs among peers, RFA contributes significantly to early intervention and mental wellness within communities.
Resilience First Aid builds on deep research and validation by making the PR6 model accessible through certification training and additional resources that create lasting change and protection. This establishes Resilience First Aid with a strong science-based approach that enables meaningful assessment and potential for further validation and impact.
What You’ll Learn Through RFA
Getting certified in Resilience First Aid means you’ll learn about an existing set of science-based skills
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How to proactively build mental wellness in others using the ALL Protocol
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How to support others through six resilience domains (Vision, Composure, Reasoning, Health, Tenacity, Collaboration)
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Language and conversational examples on how to talk proactively about mental health
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How to respond when someone is struggling and refer to help if needed
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Use a strength-based model to become a source of hope and optimism
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How to connect meaningfully to support those around you, building lasting relationships
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Practical insight into the neuroscience of resilience and how to apply this to support others as well as yourself
What’s Included
RFA is a high-impact course that teaches you practical skills alongside the latest neuroscience of preventative mental health. As part of completing the certification, you will receive:
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14 hours interactive training on preventative mental health skills
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14 hours Continuing Education Credits
What sets Resilience First Aid apart is the resources that you take away. In addition to the two-day training course, you’ll also get the following resources to keep learning and build resilience:
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12 months access to the accredited Driven Resilience App with full mental health and resilience training courses. This is a comprehensive digital resource that includes daily resilience-building activities to continue learning beyond the certification. Use the AI-powered chatbot to track your progress and chat each day, along with quick techniques for in-the-moment help, as well as detailed training for larger goals
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Your own Resilience First Aid Responder Kit – a set physical resources to facilitate conversations. This includes a comprehensive Responder Manual with all the course content, a RFA wallet card with key information, magnetic resilience skill tiles, domain skill cards, resilience ball, resilience pocket guide, waterproof notebook, and more to help you keep the concepts alive and visible
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Community access to connect with other responders and people interested to build the resilience of others and themselves. Share ideas and challenges, helping to build a movement to be proactive about mental health
RFA Course Outcome
On completion of the course, you will:
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Be Certified as a Resilience First Aid Responder for three years
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Receive a certificate of your achievement
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Be able to apply the concepts of preventative mental health
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Know how to use the 6 domains of resilience
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Be able to spot early on when someone might need support
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Be able to apply an effective responder protocol
In three years, you’ll have the opportunity to renew your certification through a one-day refresher course, where you’ll learn more about the latest developments and scientific insight to keep your knowledge and skills updated.
Want to know more?
Begin your accreditation below.
Step 1 - Resilience First Aid Starter Training
The starting point. Two hours. Immediate impact.
The Resilience First Aid Starter Training (RFAST) is a practical, accessible two-hour introduction to resilience designed for individuals, people leaders, and HR professionals who want tools they can use straight away.
Participants walk away with an understanding of their own resilience profile across the six domains of the PR6 model, and a personal Resilience Action Plan they can begin applying immediately, at work and in life. RFAST creates a shared language, surfaces the conversation around mental health and wellbeing, and gives teams a practical foundation to build from.
What's covered:
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How mental health is evolving and your role in prevention
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How to recognise when someone may need resilience support
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The six domains of resilience and your own strengths
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How to identify psychosocial hazards and create a more supportive environment
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Your own Resilience Action Plan to apply straight away
What's included:
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Live delivery, online or in-person for up to 25 people
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Interactive session with an accredited RFA Instructor
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Digital resources and a personal resilience assessment
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Tailored examples for your industry (in-person sessions)
Best for: team sessions, leadership kick-offs, conferences, and planning days.
What people say:
"Luke was an amazing speaker. Resilience was relatable, the examples were great, and the content was just right. So much to take away and action." — Jessica W
"Amazing program and so engaging. You are able to reflect on yourself and also learn how to support others. I left with a clearer understanding of resilience and how to build it every day." — Leisha
Step 2: Resilience First Aid (RFA) Certification
Two days. Nationally accredited. Lasting capability.
RFA goes deeper. It's a nationally accredited two-day certification that equips individuals to proactively support resilience in the people around them, using the evidence-based ALL Protocol and the six domains of the PR6 model.
This is the certification that creates lasting capability across your organisation. Your people leave with the tools, the language, and the confidence to make a real difference, not just in the workplace but in every relationship they have.
Available as a public course in Sydney or delivered in-house across Australia.
What people say:
"Attending RFA gave me a strong understanding of the science behind resilience and how to build practical tools for myself and others. It was one of the best professional development courses I have ever attended." — Jo Senz
"RFA provides practical tools to support others, backed by science. I loved the mix of personal reflection, group discussion and real-world application." — Sarah T
"I found the RFA program to be extremely engaging, thought provoking and interactive. I have walked away with so many strategies that I am confident I will use in the workplace and in my personal life." — Bri
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