GRIEF THERAPY

Masters Degree in Grief Counseling & Thanatology

GRF 625

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

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Grief Therapy, a Master Level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Masters in Grief Counseling and Thanatology. I'm pleased to offer you this course, which will be a foundational course for the remainder of your studies in the master program. This is an exciting course. Grief Therapy involves helping people facilitate complicated grief goals. The goal of grief therapy is somewhat different from the goal of grief counseling. The goal in grief therapy is to identify and resolve the conflicts of separation which preclude the completion of mourning tasks in persons whose grief is absent, delayed, excessive, or prolonged. (Worden, 2002)

There are specific goals which correspond to Worden's four tasks of mourning:

1). To increase the reality of the loss.
2). To help the counselee deal with both expressed and latent affect.
3). To help the counselee overcome various impediments to readjustment after the loss.
4). To help the counselee find a way to remember the deceased while feeling comfortable reinvesting in life.

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.

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

Book 1: Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy. By Worden, William; 2002. 3rd Edition. ISBN # 0-8261-4162-5.

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Also,you may purchase the text directly from Springer Publishing Company: 536 Broadway. New York, NY 10012-3955, Tel (212) 431-4370.

EXAMINATIONS: There are no examinations for this course.

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

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

GRADING:

RESEARCH PAPER                      20%
TWENTY VIGNETTES                   45%
2 CRITIQUE/SUMMARY               10%
JOURNAL                                  10%
SELF EVALUATION                       5%
CHAPTER OUTLINE & SUMMARY   10%
TOTAL                                    100%

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.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: You are to write twenty vignettes, each 2-3 page assignments, and they are to be written from actual cases, from your own experience. You are required to keep a lournal. The function of the journal is for you to keep a written account of your reactions to the readings, and assignments as you go through the class. In this journal you should record insights, self-analysis, responses to self-awareness activities, strengths, weaknesses, feedback, etc.

You will submit a self-evaluation report. Professional and personal growth using criteria provided in class and citing evidence from your work through the semester. You are responsible for reading and becoming familiar with all materials included in the textbook, handouts, and assigned outside readings. A typed research report is required. The emphasis of this paper will be on a topic related to Grief Therapy. An abstract of the research, the bibliography, and listing of sources should be provided. Topics must be approved by me and copies of journal articles must be submitted with the report. Any other sources used such as books must be available upon request by me. Only professional sources should be used (minimum of eight). Include current sources.

CHAPTER OUTLINE AND SUMMARY: Two critiques of published study, minimum two (2) pages, only professional sources should be used. Journal articles should be submitted with the critique. All work submitted must be typed.

NOTE: All work must be done directly with clients.

METHODS: Readings from textbook, professional books and journals. Self-awareness/exploration activities.

COURSE OUTLINE:

1). Introduction.
2). Attachment, Loss and the Experience of Grief.
3). Understanding the Mourning Process.
4). Grief Counseling: Facilitating Uncomplicated Grief.
5). Abnormal Grief Reactions: Complicated Mourning.
6). Grief Therapy: Resolving Complicated Mourning.
7). Grieving Special Types of Losses.
8). Grief and Family Systems.
9). The Counselor's Own Grief.
10). Training for Grief Counseling.

COURSE ACCELERATION: It is permissible for you to accelerate in this course. There is NO mandate to accelerate. This is an individual choice that I will honor.

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

1). Understand the phenomenon of bereavement in order to help those who mourn resolve their grieving in a healthy manner.
2). Have an understanding that grief often surfaces as the underlying cause of various physical and mental aberrations.
3). Have an understanding of unresolved grief.
4). Have an understanding of the Attachment Theory.
5). Have an understanding of Normal Grief.
6). Understand the manifestations of Normal Grief.
7). Understand Grief and Depression.
8). Have knowledge of Worden's tasks of Mourning.
9). Have knowledge about when to do grief counseling.
10). Have an understanding of effectiveness of Grief Counseling.
11). Have an understanding of complicated mourning.
12). Have an understanding of special types of losses.
13). Have an understanding of different intervention approaches used in counseling.
14). Understand the counselor's own grief, stress and burnout.
15). Know the factors that contribute to the intensity of grief reactions.
16). Understand the family versus individual needs during grief.
17). Have an understanding of family dynamics.
18). Have an understanding of exercises and vignettes that will help you be an effective grief counselor.

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