Bereavement Counselling (Level 3)

Module 1: Reappraisal, approaches and theories of counselling
The first module reflects on previous knowledge and looks in detail at the five theories which have been adopted as the main approaches in counselling. The work of Freud, Rogers, Skinner, Ellis, Jung and Eagan will be looked at in brief in this module, and the corresponding counselling approaches examined.

Module 2: The psychodynamic approach
Students will look at how the psychodynamic approach works and is applied to the counselling situation. Specific examples and activities will give the student indications as to which particular set of client conditions benefits most from this approach.

Module 3: The cognitive behavioural approach
In this module students will look at how the cognitive behavioural approach works and is applied to the counselling situation. Specific examples and activities will give the student indications as to which particular set of client circumstances benefits most from this approach.

Module 4: The person-centred approach
This module will look at how they work and are applied to the counselling situation. Specific examples and activities will give the student indications as to which particular set of client circumstances benefits most from this approach.

Module 5: Process, skill and boundaries
Students will have the opportunity to examine the counselling process itself and the skills needed in bereavement counselling. The module will also discuss boundaries or limitations in this most sensitive area of work and will look at how to recognise and deal with these limitations; where to go next and what the following steps are.

Module 6: Loss; concepts, origins and perspectives
The main focus of this module is looking at the concepts of loss in terms of how humans interpret different kinds of losses, and how these losses are put into categories. Cultural issues within a multicultural society will be examined, together with people’s perspectives on the loss of life and the historical denial or fear which has evolved since modern ‘death’ has become an unseen event.

Module 7: Understanding bereavement
The grieving process is the main topic area for this module. Students will learn to understand the individual needs of people dealing with bereavement, and will give an insight into the implications of the process which can be psychological and physiological.

Module 8: Responding to grief
Bereavement counselling sessions are covered within this unit. Students will extend their vocabulary of the subject area. Appropriate vocabulary, expectations and responses will be examined, and there will be detailed references to particular skills which should be employed in certain situations.

Module 9: Bereavement counselling for special groups: Part 1
The remaining two modules both focus on counselling for special groups. In this module the student will learn how to deal with special individual groups: the loss of a partner, loss of a child, bereavement through trauma, disaster, war, terrorism and suicide.

Module 10: Bereavement counselling for special groups: Part 2
This module looks at the remaining special groups: children’s bereavement, the loss of a pet, empathetic grief, and other bereavement situations.