ADEC Professional Development Intermediate Course Application
Grief Counseling
Each year during the week of ADEC’s annual conference, attendees have an opportunity to participate in one of three professional development courses that provide an in-depth look at the topics and issues of greatest importance in the field of Thanatology.
ADEC invites applications from individuals who wish to teach the Intermediate Professional Development Course: Grief Counseling for the 2021 - 2023 conferences. For information on the course and the application process, please read below.
Years to be Taught: 2021, 2022, 2023
Intended Audience: This course is designed for all professionals who have at least two years of experience working with the bereaved, those grieving, and/or those dying.
Course Description: This course examines key concepts related to the human response to loss across the lifespan. Using the most current research and theory available in the field, the course introduces theoretical models of the grief experience, forces that contribute to risk and resilience in bereavement outcomes, and developmental, cultural, familial and other mediating factors and ramifications related to the grief experience. The uses of ritual receive special attention as a coping response to facilitate mourning for all ages, as do approaches to enhance your self-care and burnout prevention actions. The often forgotten and misunderstood needs of grieving children will be highlighted as well as research and best practice techniques for this group and their open or closed family systems. This highly interactive course gives you the opportunity to explore specific strategies and counseling tools to effectively support individuals, couples, families or groups coping with loss, and to critically reflect with peers about the impact of grief and loss on the professional. A variety of interventions and techniques are woven throughout the course to help you transfer the skills you learn in the course to your own work setting.
Required Learning Objectives: 1. Identify and describe different types of losses and their impact upon grievers. 2. Identify common tasks facing grieving individuals across the lifespan. 3. Describe developmental, cultural, family, and other mediating factors and ramifications related to loss and grief. 4. Evaluate risk and resilience factors affecting outcomes. 5. Identify specific strategies and counseling tools/rituals used with grieving clients including groups for all ages. 6. Identify specific strategies and techniques for working with grieving children and their family systems. 7. Identify the impact of this work on the clinician and strategies for self-care.
Required Text: Worden, J.W., (2018). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner (5th Ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Recommended text: Gamino, L. A., & Ritter, R. H., Jr. (2009). Ethical practice in grief counseling. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Additional text(s): The selection of additional recommended texts or readings for this course will be at the discretion of the course faculty.
Application Requirements: Please complete and submit the online application by Friday, March 20, 2020. Application materials will include: • ADEC membership information, ADEC committee/activity involvement, experience in the field of Thanatology • A current resume/CV, brief faculty biography, and desire for a teaching the course • Teaching history, previous ADEC conference attendance and presentations
All applications will be reviewed by the Professional Development Committee and the committee will be in touch by April 10, 2020.