Grief Awareness Certificate
This programme provides a solid foundation of understanding in the process of grief, and how to help grieving people. It will be valuable to people working with those who have suffered a significant loss, including funeral service, nursing home staff, school personnel, human resources, hospice and grief support volunteers among many others.
Course Description
In our “death denying culture” where the grieving process is often misunderstood and minimized, people need to understand what the grief process, how it manifests itself, and identify specific strategies to enable them to work through their grief and reorganize their life after a loss.
Our “Grief Awareness” course gives people the essential body of knowledge required to help people understand both the “Why” of the experience, as well as the ‘How to”. Beginning with an examination of the societal perspectives and the culture in which loss occurs, we move to a comprehensive component on understanding the grief process, and the tasks and strategies of both the grieving person and the caregiver.
Our course manual, “Understanding Bereavement” by Dr Bill Webster also provides vital information regarding complicated mourning, including a comparison of the different dynamics between anticipatory grief, and sudden, unexpected or traumatic loss. Information on recognizing and treating PTSD, violent death such as homicide and suicide, as well as crisis management and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.
With this course, the student will be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of these difficult situations, and also learn when to refer situations to professional health care providers.
The course is illustrated by such practical strategies as role plays, video and case studies.