Who Is This Course Suitable For?

This course is suitable for anyone who supports the grieving and bereaved or would like to -

• Volunteer counsellors
• Trainee counsellors
• Anyone wishing to start counselling
• Police officers
• Law enforcement
• Teachers
• Social workers
• Parents
• Foster carers
• Carers
• Support workers
• Welfare workers
• Counsellors wishing to update their knowledge
• Retail staff
• Hairdressers
• In fact, anyone who works with people would benefit from using counselling skills.

This course is suitable for professional/career development, CPD or personal interest. 

Please note that if you have recently experienced a bereavement, you may find the content difficult at times.

What Will You Learn in This Course?

Study bereavement and grief counselling by distance learning.

• Understand the stages of grief by studying grief counselling.
• Learn more about the grieving process.
• Essential studies for anyone who works/supports people who are grieving.
• Study in your own home and at your own pace.

• Understand bereavement and loss 
• Learn more about the grieving process, supporting children, adolescents and adults through the grieving process, abnormal grief and much more.
• An essential course for anyone who works/supports people who are grieving or would like to pursue a career in this area.
• Study this course at your own pace and in your own home with support from our excellent tutors.
• The course has 8 lessons and requires 100 hours of study.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

There are 8 lessons in this course, comprising:

Lesson 1. Nature And Scope of Grief and Bereavement

• Understanding loss.
• Society's views on loss.
• Coping with loss.
• Knowing what to expect.
• Mourning.
• Living with grief.
• Terminology.
• Types of grief.

Lesson 2. Stages of Grief

• Common stages.
• Duration of grief.
• Denial.
• Anger.
• Bargaining.
• Depression.
• Acceptance.
• Tasks of mourning.
• Criticism.
• Mourning process in Judaism (case study).
• Response to loss and grieving.
• Not coping.

Lesson 3. Grief and Children

• Grief for children up to 3 years old.
• Grief for 3- to 6-year-old.
• Grief for 7- to 8-year-old.
• Grief for children 9 years and older.
• Preparing a child for death.
• Sudden death.
• After a death.
• Funerals.
• Typical child responses to grief.
• Case studies.
• Feelings about suicide.
• Supporting a grieving child.
• Help from family and friends.
• Guidelines for letting children know what is and is not acceptable.
• Children with serious problems with loss and grief.

Lesson 4. Grief and Adolescents

• Grief as a unique adolescent experience.
• Adolescent responses: remoteness, anger, abuse, tears, egocentrism, sense of universality, etc.
• Helping the grieving adolescent.
• Difference between adolescent and adult grief experience.

Lesson 5. Adjustment to Bereavement

• What is grief.
• Accept the loss.
• Feel the pain.
• Adjust, Adapt, etc.
• Grief counselling.
• Counsellor's response and intervention.

Lesson 6. Abnormal Grief

• Complicated grief reactions.
• Worden's categories of complicated grief reactions.
• Causes of abnormal grief.
• Post traumatic stress disorder.
• Symptoms and treatment of PTSD.
• Loss of children in pregnancy: ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage.
• Supporting people with complicated grief.
• Managing grief after a disaster.
• The course of bereavement.
• Complications of bereavement.
• Traumatic grief.
• Risk factors for complications of bereavement.
• Treating bereaved individuals.
• Role of the professional in early stages of disaster bereavement.

Lesson 7. Preparing for Grief and Bereavement

• Sociocultural influences on the grief process.
• Grief and terminal illness.
• Preparing for an approaching death.
• Practical preparations.
• Emotional responses of the dying.
• Responses of family and friends.

Lesson 8. Future Outlook and Long-Term Grief

• Psychological aspects of long-term grief.
• Chronic illness and grief case study.
• Disabled child case study.
• Strategies for handling long term grief: guided mourning, support groups, medication, etc.

COURSE AIMS

• Describe the nature and scope of grief and bereavement counselling and individual's attitudes to grief.
• To identify through continuing exploration, the meaning and responses of a wide range of loss situations, taking cultural variations into account.
• To describe the different ways that children may respond to grief and to develop appropriate strategies for helping them to cope.
• Determine the different ways that adolescents may respond to grief and to examine how these perspectives have translated into counselling practice
• To describe the different means through which individuals are able to adjust to loss and to consider other options available to them.
• To describe when an individual’s response to grief may be considered abnormal and to discuss methods of assisting such individuals.
• Define the different ways of preparing for grief and bereavement and to consider social, cultural and psychological perspectives.
• Describe separation, loneliness, the effects of long-term grief and long-term counselling support strategies.

CONFRONT AND MASTER QUESTIONS, SUCH AS:

• List euphemisms for dying.
• Consider factors that can help set the conditions for the good death
• Discuss the ways that a wake or funeral service can be of help to mourners.
• Discuss attitudes toward death in society and how they affect the treatment of dying.
• Compare effective and ineffective support for people going through
• Explain why people pass through different stages at different times
• List mechanisms available to help a counsellor support someone who is grieving.
• Describe ways in which children might respond to grief.
• Explain why different children respond to grief in different ways.
• Describe counselling strategies for supporting the grieving child. 
• Research how adolescents respond to grief.
• Outline counselling strategies for supporting the grieving adolescent. 
• List suicide prevention strategies.
• Explain in general how we adjust to loss.
• List some dangers of loss.
• Describe some alternatives for loss recovery. 
• Research how bereavement affects survivors.
• Describe some abnormal responses to grief, and how to determine they are abnormal.
• Describe some treatment methods for assisting a person suffering from abnormal grief.  
• Briefly describe symptoms of PTSD
• Discuss socio-cultural perspectives in preparing for grief and bereavement.          
• Research physiological and psychological effects of loneliness in the aged.
• Describe some effects of long-term grief.
• Outline some long-term counselling support strategies.

What Are the Advantages of Studying Grief Counselling with ACS Distance Education?

• You can start at any time to suit you.
• The courses are self-paced.
• You can study when and where suits you. They are flexible to fit in around you and your lifestyle.
• It is not just a course, it is a package of learning that includes – course notes, tutor feedback, self-assessment tests, research tasks and assignments.
• Our tutors are all experts in their field, with years of experience in psychology and counselling.
• They are also keen and enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy working with students to improve their knowledge and skills.
• Courses are also updated regularly to meet the demands of the changing needs for knowledge and to keep our courses up to date.

What do our students say about the course?

"Being able to apply myself to distance education for the topic that interests me has been invaluable. Living in a remote area has a number of disadvantages. The lack of access to continuing education is one of great importance. Successfully completing the Grief Counselling course has enabled me to think ahead and possibly attempt future studies on this much needed issue."
Mary Ann Cohen, Grief Counselling

What Next?

• Would you like to be able to help people who are grieving more effectively?
• Would you like to understand the grieving process and understood more about helping people through this difficult stage in their lives?
• Would you like to understand why sometimes grieving can require more intense support?

Then find out now by enrolling on our Grief Counselling course.

You can enrol today by clicking the “Enrol Now” button above.

Or

Click here to Contact a Psychology Tutor.

Or Request a Prospectus Here.