Theory is useful, but it only becomes real once you can picture it in your own life. Below are five everyday Kenyan situations where Psychological First Aid changes what actually happens, not in a classroom, but in a matatu stage, an office corridor, or a living room the day after bad news arrives. For each one, we show the instinctive response most of us reach for, and the PFA-informed response that replaces it.
1Panic at Work
A colleague receives a call mid-meeting and starts shaking, unable to speak clearly, breathing fast. The rest of the team either stares awkwardly or pretends not to notice, and the meeting limps on.
Without PFA
Everyone freezes or ignores it. Someone says “pole” and moves the meeting along, leaving the colleague to manage alone in front of the whole team.
With PFA
Someone quietly steps in, walks the colleague to a private space, stays with them, and asks simple grounding questions until their breathing steadies, then helps them decide what, if anything, they want colleagues to know.
2A Student After Failing an Exam
A form four student comes home with a mean grade far below what the family expected. She goes straight to her room and will not come out for dinner.
Without PFA
Parents lead with disappointment or comparison to a sibling or cousin who performed better, which confirms the shame she is already feeling and pushes her further into silence.
With PFA
A parent sits with her without an agenda, lets her speak first if she wants to, and resists the urge to problem-solve or lecture in that first conversation. Practical planning can wait until she feels safe enough to think clearly.
3A Family After Bereavement
A family is organising a harambee for funeral costs within days of a sudden loss, juggling logistics while still in shock.
Without PFA
Visitors focus entirely on logistics, contributions, timelines, arrangements, while the grieving family is never actually asked how they are holding up.
With PFA
Someone close to the family checks in on their emotional state separately from the harambee planning, ensures they are eating and resting, and helps link them to extended family or a counsellor for the weeks after the funeral, when support often disappears.
4A Road Accident
A boda boda rider is the first on the scene of a matatu accident. A passenger is conscious but visibly in shock, shaking and unable to answer questions clearly.
Without PFA
Bystanders crowd around, some filming, some shouting instructions at once, which overwhelms the injured person further and adds to the chaos.
With PFA
One person takes a calm, steady lead, speaks slowly, keeps the crowd back, checks for immediate danger, and stays with the injured person until an ambulance or safe transport arrives, offering reassurance rather than questions about what happened.
5Supporting a Survivor of Domestic Violence
A friend confides, carefully and with visible fear, that things at home have become unsafe.
Without PFA
The listener reacts with shock, pushes for details, or immediately insists on a course of action, which can make the person feel judged, exposed, or unheard, and less likely to reach out again.
With PFA
The listener stays calm, believes her without demanding proof, follows her pace, and gently offers to help her connect with support such as Kenya’s national GBV toll-free helpline, 1195, when she is ready, rather than deciding for her.
The Pattern Behind All Five
Notice what stays constant across every scenario above. The untrained response tends to rush, whether toward fixing, judging, or crowding in. The PFA-informed response slows down first: it looks before acting, listens without an agenda, and links the person to what they actually need, on their timeline, not the helper’s.
None of these five situations required a psychology degree to handle well. They required someone present who had actually been shown what to do, which is precisely the gap Psychological First Aid closes.
Tomorrow, we look at the opposite side of this coin: the well-meaning mistakes most of us make when trying to comfort someone, and what to do instead.
See These Scenarios Covered in Full
The Psychological First Aid course walks through each of these situations, and more, step by step, self-paced.
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