Grief and Bereavement Counselling course.

Find out more about supporting people who are grieving. 

• 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.

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.

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.

HOW THE COURSE WORKS

You can start the course at any time.

It is studied by distance learning, so you can study in the comfort of your own home. But this doesn't mean you are all alone in your studies.  Our highly qualified and friendly tutors are there to help you every step of the way.  If you have any questions at all, they are always happy to help.

Each lesson includes set tasks, and is completed with an assignment which the student submits to their course tutor.  The tutor will mark the assignment and return this to the student with comments and suggestions for further reading.

QUALITY COURSES, QUALITY SUPPORT

At ACS we provide you with more than just a set of course notes.

Your 'learning package' includes:

• Course notes.
• Self-assessment quizzes.
• Assignment feedback.
• You can interact one on one with a professional tutor with decades of experience - just email, phone or log on to chat to connect with them.

OUR STUDENTS SAY

"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.

Register to Study - Go to “It’s Easy to Enrol” box at the top of the page and you can enrol now.

or

Get Advice –  Email us at info@acsedu.co.uk  OR
Use our FREE COUNSELLING SERVICE to contact a tutor.