What is grief counseling education?

At any point in life, we may suffer loss and subsequent grief from a variety of sources, including death of a loved one, divorce, separation, or even natural disasters. Over the last few decades, professionals have become more sensitive to the experiences of grief and the ways in which others can be helped in navigating these life passages more safely.

Grief counseling(also known as "bereavement counseling") education can be key in developing a more comprehensive understanding of the bereavement processes and the various approaches for offering valuable assistance. The emphasis is on helping persons work through normal grief as noted below.

In terms of occupation, you do not need to be a therapist to have frequent contact with individuals who are suffering from grief. Social workers, ministers, physicians, nurses, funeral service directors, funeral assistants, and others often have to work directly with the bereaved and can benefit from training. Otherwise it can be hard to know what to say or what do in such difficult moments, or we may impose our own particular and narrow ideas on the situation.

What is grief counseling at its best?

When there is a widespread disaster or a personal loss, grief counselors may be called to the scene or made available to help with the recovery process. What makes grief counseling different from other kinds of social support? In its “Field Manual to Grief Counseling Guide,” the NY State Office of Mental Health offers this list of what a grief counselor actually offers:

· Listens in a supportive manner to individuals’ concerns.

· Helps disaster survivors recognize that, in most cases, their emotional reactions are natural, normal, and to be expected.

· Assists survivors to reduce additional stress by organizing and prioritizing day-today and recovery-related tasks.

· Helps individuals to understand and recognize the wide range of reactions to trauma, such as numbness, frustration, confusion, anger, anxiety, sadness, and feelings of helplessness.

· Assists individuals to draw on their own strengths and develop healthy coping mechanisms that permit them to gradually resume their pre-disaster level of functioning.

· Sensitively and caringly helps individuals to grieve their losses in their own unique ways.

· Systematically draws upon an array of recovery resources for appropriate referrals.

Grief counseling education and certification

Grief counseling education equips the counselor to offer all of the above. Coursework and voluntary certification may be offered virtually as well as in face-to-face trainings. Those who are dedicated to providing the highest quality of grief counseling may opt for certification. Certification is often considered “the gold standard” for specialty practices as it testifies and provides a verification of defined educational requirements, adherence to a solid code of ethics, and in many instances prerequisites of practice experience for the practice of grief counseling, bereavement education and facilitation, thanantology and closely related professional services.