GRF 1200 - Parental Loss of a Child

Parental Loss of a Child

Doctorate Degree in Grief Counseling

GRF 1200

Breyer State University
Instructor: Juan Kenigstein, PH.D, M.ED., GC-C

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Parental Loss of a Child, a Doctorate Level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Doctorate in Grief Counseling. I'm pleased to offer you this course. This course investigates this specific and quite unique case of bereavement. The purpose is to acquaint you with the experience of parental loss of a child. To promote appropriate clinical interventions and therapeutic support for bereaved parents, while at the same time establishing more realistic expectations for coping with this particular loss.

TIME FRAME: This is a six-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your text book(s) have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded six semester hours of credit. Students may accelerate, but may not complete this course in less than four weeks.

TEXTBOOK: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: Parental Loss of a Child: Edited by Therese A. Rando.
Research Press: Champaign Illinois, 1986.
ISBN: 0-87822-281-2

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EXAMINATIONS: There are no examinations for this course; grades are based on completion of assignments and activities.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
Below 70% = Fail

GRADING COMPOSITION:

10 Activities                               - 70%
Self evaluation                           - 5%
Research Report                        - 20%
Discovery & Intention Statement - 5%

TOTAL 100%

GOALS: The aim of education about Parental Loss of a Child is to acquaint you with the experience of parental loss of a child and to promote more appropriate clinical interventions and therapeutic support for the bereaved parent.

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like. Our classroom for this course has a "chat" room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. Upon registration, you will receive my email address. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand the unique issues of parental loss of a child and the argument that these issues make current conceptualizations of grief and mourning less applicable to parental bereavement.
2). Identify specific types of death.
3). Identify socially unacknowledged parental bereavements.
4). Identify subjective experiences of survivors in different role relationships with the deceased child.
5). Evaluate appropriate treatment for bereaved parents.
6). Describe various organizations and self-help groups that aid bereaved parents.

COURSE OUTLINE:

1). Introduction.
2). The Unique Issues and Impact of the Death of a Child.
3). Parental Bereavement: An Exception to the General Conceptualization of Mourning.
4). Parental Grief: A Synthesis of Theory, Research, and Intervention.
5). Guilt in Bereaved Parents.
6). Issues in Specific Types of Death: Miscarriage, stillbirth, newborn death, sudden infant death syndrome, accidental death of a child, death of a child from a serious illness, death of a child by suicide, murder of a child, death of the adult child.
7). Socially Unacknowledged Parental Bereavements: Induced abortion, mourning of mothers who relinquish their children for adoption, missing children, and missing in action.
8). Grief of Fathers.
9). Grief of Mothers.
10). A Single Parent Confronting the Loss of an Only Child.
11). Grief of Siblings.
12). Individual and Couples Treatment Following the Death of a Child.
13). Differences of Grief Intensity in Bereaved Parents.
14). Family Therapy after a Child’s Death.
15). Communicating with Surviving Children.
16). Advice from a Bereaved Parent to Physicians.
17). Advice to Clergy on Counseling Bereaved Parents.
18). Advice to Funeral Directors on Assisting Bereaved Parents.
19). Advice to Professionals on Compassionate involvement.
20). Organizations: The Compassionate Friends, SHARE, National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Foundation, The Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Concerned United Birthparents, The Samaritans/Safe Place, and Child Find of America.