Testimonials for
The Worst Is Over: What To Say When Every Moment Counts
by Judith Acosta, LCSW and Judith Simon Prager, Ph.D.


The Worst Is Over will be known as the seminal work for teaching compassionate crisis intervention communication to anyone who works with medical and emotional emergencies. All future books by others will reference this source as the "bible" for crisis communication.
        Patti White, Ph.D., Editor, International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. Vol.     4, No. 2, Spring 2002.

The Worst Is Over is like an answer to a prayer. It gives everyone, from parent to firefighter, the knowledge and courage to say exactly the right thing at the right time in a way that is healing, uplifting, and also life-saving.
        Christiane Northrup, M.D. Author, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (Bantam, 1998)
        and The Wisdom of Menopause (Bantam, March 2001)

I’ve just had the pleasure of reading your manuscript, Verbal First Aid (The Worst is Over). I found it well written and very informative. I agree that what one says in the first few moments of a physical or psychological crisis can have a lasting effect on the person in crisis. Your book is the best example of a practical, common-sense approach to providing psychological support yet written for the lay public.
        George S. Everly, Jr.
        Chairman of the Board, Emeritus, International Critical Incident Stress     Foundation, Inc.


[The Worst Is Over]  is a major contribution to healing and one of the most original books I have read in some time. At this moment in history, when many wish totally to give healing over to drugs, genome manipulation, and stem cells, we need this message more than ever - that human consciousness, and the ways we choose to communicate with one another, can make the difference in life and death.
        Larry Dossey, MD  Author: Healing Words and Healing Beyond the Body


This is a book that should be in the hands of every officer, in every academy, in every county across the country. The concepts are essential and life-saving.
        Gene Moynihan, CSW, CASAC    
        Director, Member Assistance Program, New York City Police

Verbal First Aid [The Worst Is Over]…is required reading for all who wish to work in the field of trauma response.
         Leo J. Shea III, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist, New York University-Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine


The Worst Is Over… is an important work that should be read – more than once—by anyone who wants to make a difference.
        James Peloquen, MD, Medical Director, Partial Hospital Chair, QA, Psychiatry, Long Island College Hospital


The Worst Is Over is a book that should be read by every police officer in the country.”
        Tom Scotto, President, National Association of Police Organizations at their 2002 Conference

Reading about Verbal First Aid gave me the courage and the inspiration to be a source of comfort and ease to people who are ill or injured. The authors’ very simple approach is both loving and practical. I recommend it to anyone dealing with a medical emergency. I use this as an ongoing practice in my work, both in the emergency room and the ICU.”
        Cara de Vries, Respiratory Care Practitioner, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford

It’s finally becoming apparent that what we say during a medical emergency is often as important as the treatment we provide.
        Alan Mistler, Associate Professor and Program Director, Center for Prehospital Education Department of Emergency             Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center

After reading the book "The Worst is Over - What to Say When Every Moment Counts" I became a believer in Verbal First Aid.  I run the first aid training unit for our department and have incorporated it into our program.  As Police Officers, we talk to people in a variety of situations, and unfortunately some of these conversations are not pleasant ones.  Verbal First Aid is a valuable "tool" we can use with the public that we serve. The feedback thus far from the field has been great.
        Sgt. Mike Harvitt, First Aid Training Unit, Michigan State Police