End of Life Issues

Bachelor of Science in Life and Health Sciences

GRF 420

Breyer State Universtiy

Instructor:

Juan Kenigstein, PhD.

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to End of life Issues. I'm pleased to offer you this course. This is an exciting course. Death, dying and bereavement are fundamental and pervasive aspects of the human experience. Individuals and societies can only achieve fullness of living by understanding and appreciating these realities. The absence of such understanding and appreciation may result in unnecessary suffering, loss of dignity, alienation, and diminish quality of living.

TIME FRAME: This is a five-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 five semester hours of credit. You may accelerate, but may not complete this course in less than four weeks.

TEXTBOOK: There are two (2) required textbooks for this course.

Book 1: Working with the Dying and Breaved. Routledge. 29 West 35 th Street. New York City, NY 10001 1998: ISBN # 0-415-91994-0.

Book 2: Clinical Dimensions of Anticipatory Mourning. Research Press. 2612 North Mattis Avenue, Champaign Illinois 61822 2000: ISBN # 0-87822-380-0.

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EXAMINATIONS: There are no exams for this course; grades are based on completion of projects, assignments and research report.

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

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

GRADING COMPOSITION:

Five activities                             50%
Self evaluation                             5%
Research Report                         20%
Discovery & Intention Statement  15%
One Case Study                          10%

TOTAL 100%

GOALS: The aim of education about end of life issues is to contribute to general education as a basis for personal development and responsible social participation. It must also contribute to the specific education of those who, as a result of personal or professional circumstances, are closely associated with death, dying and bereavement.

METHODS:

1). Readings from textbook, professional books and journals.
2). Self-awareness/exploration activities.

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: Our personal philosophy about life and people impact upon our relationship with others. These assumptions about people and their motives influences how we see clients, the philosophy and theory of counseling we use, the style of therapeutic relationships we develop, the kind of counseling goals we help clients set, and the interventions we use to help clients meet their goals. Upon conclusion of this course, you should be able to :

1). Understand and describe their personal counseling philosophy.
2). Identify, understand and describe approaches, which blend with their personal philosophy about life and people.
3). Understand and describe "terminal illness"
4). Discuss and practice therapeutic interventions.
5). Understand and be able to formulate an effective treatment plan.
6). Understand the Dying person and his/her family.
7). Demonstrate ability to identify and discuss the presenting problem and possible approaches to use.
8). Demonstrate basic ability to follow the client during the initial stages of counseling.
9). Understand and describe the Hospice Program of Care.

COURSE OUTLINE:

1). A family systems perspective on loss, recovery and resilience.
2). The relevance of tears: reconstructing the mourning process from a systemic perspective.
3). Death of a parent in a family with young children: working with the aftermath.
4). Death of a pupil in school.
5). On the brink - managing suicidal teenagers.
6). A 'dysfunctional triangle" or love in all the right places: social context in the therapy of a family living with AIDS.
7). Working systematically with older people and their families who have 'come to grief.
8). Anticipatory Mourning: A Review and Critique of the Literature.
9). The Six Dimensions of Anticipatory Mourning.
10). Re-Creating Meaning in the Face of Illness.
11). Anticipatory Mourning and the Transition to Loving in Absence.
12). Anticipatory Mourning and the Transition of Fading Away.  
13). On the Experience of Traumatic Stress in Anticipatory and Post death Mourning.
14). Anticipatory Mourning and Coping with Dying: Similarities, Differences, and Suggested Guidelines for Helpers.    
15). Denial and the Limits of Anticipatory Mourning.    
16). Towards an Appropriate Death.    
17). Grief in Dying Persons.    
18). Promoting Healthy Anticipatory Mourning in Intimates of the Life-Threatened or Dying Person.
19). Anticipatory Mourning: Challenges for Professional and Volunteer Caregivers.
20). Anticipatory Mourning and Prenatal Diagnosis.
21). Dealing with the Chronic/Terminal Illness or Disability of a Child: Anticipatory Mourning.
22). Anticipatory Mourning in HIV/AIDS.
23). Mourning Psychosocial Loss: Anticipatory Mourning in Alzheimer's, ALS, and Irreversible Coma.
24). Advance Directives and Anticipatory Mourning.
25). Anticipatory Mourning and Organ Donation.
26). Anticipatory Mourning and the Human-Animal Bond.

DISCOVERY AND INTENTION STATEMENT: Discovery statements are a declaration of what you want, a description of your attitudes, statement of your feelings, transcripts of your thoughts, and chronicles of your behavior. Intention statements can be used to alter your life, statements of your commitment to do a specific task, or to take a certain action. An intention arises out of your choice to direct your energy toward a particular goal.

INSTRUCTIONAL MODIFICATIONS: Students with disabilities, who need reasonable modifications to complete assignments successfully and otherwise satisfy course criteria, are encouraged to talk with me early in the semester to identify and plan specific accommodations. Students may be asked to provide documentation on their disability, which will assist in planning modifications. Breyer State University offers Disability Services through the Counseling Center . To request services, contact the Counseling Center or talk to me.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: Unauthorized photocopying of copyrighted works, including musical works, may be unlawful and may infringe the copyright of the copyright owner. Federal law subject to appropriate disciplinary action as well as those civil remedies and criminal penalties provides you in possession of unauthorized duplications of copyrighted material.

SYLLABUS DISCLAIMER: While the provisions of this syllabus are as accurate and complete as possible, I reserves the right to change any provision herein, not covered by BSU or BSU Regent Rules, with notice if circumstances so warrant. Every effort will be made to keep you advised of such changes and information about such changes will be available at all times from me. It is your responsibility to know what changes, if any, have been made to the provisions of this syllabus and to successfully complete the requirements of this course. Questions regarding information on the syllabus and course requirements need to be addressed by you when the syllabus is received.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.

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