Death Competence: An Ethical Imperative

Abstract

The authors argued that death competence, defined as specialized skill in tolerating and managing clients' problems related to dying, death, and bereavement, is a necessary prerequisite for ethical practice in grief counseling. A selected review of the literature tracing the underpinnings of this concept reveals how a robust construct of death competence evolved. Using the vehicle of a case study, the authors analyzed an example of empathic failure resulting from an apparent lack of death competence on the part of a mental health provider to illustrate the importance of this characteristic in delivering clinically effective and ethically sensitive grief counseling.

Understanding the bereavement care roles of nurses within acute care: a systematic review

“…Shortcomings in death competence for nurses were identified within this systematic review. Death competence has been described as a specialised skill in tolerating and managing patients’ problems related to dying, death and bereavement (Gamino & Ritter ). Death competence relates to the development of the necessary cognitive and emotional competencies required to manage death or matters related to death (Gamino & Ritter ).…”

“…Death competence has been described as a specialised skill in tolerating and managing patients’ problems related to dying, death and bereavement (Gamino & Ritter ). Death competence relates to the development of the necessary cognitive and emotional competencies required to manage death or matters related to death (Gamino & Ritter ). Cognitive competencies include having the appropriate training and field experience in bereavement care which allow for the identification of individuals who need grief counselling (Gamino & Ritter ).…”

Using Service-Learning to Integrate Death Education Into Counselor Preparation

“…Graduate students cannot avoid working with grieving and=or dying clients in their future careers; so need at least minimal death competence (Gamino & Ritter, 2012). Service-learning provides an excellent vehicle for integrating death education while also offering an opportunity to increase program correspondence with relevant accreditation standards.…”

“…I also added thanatology objectives such as ''recognize the idiosyncratic nature of grief'' and ''exhibit comfort with discussing grief with group members.'' Faculty must prepare students for service-learning (Eisenhauer, 2011b), particularly in thanatological contexts (Gamino & Ritter, 2012). To prepare students for service-learning, I explicitly defined service-learning in the syllabus, discussed the direct connections between course objectives and implementation of the BRIDGe, and emphasized the importance of reflection activities in allowing them to make their own connections between course concepts and their group facilitation.…”

Are We All Equal at Death?: Death Competence in Municipal Cemetery Management

“…Gamino and Ritter (2012) defined death competence as ''specialized skill in tolerating and managing clients' problems relating to dying, death, and bereavement'' (p. 23). Death competence in this context builds on cognitive competence and emotional competence on the part of counselors assisting people coping with death (Gamino & Ritter, 2012). This study proposes that the concept of death competence also can be applied to public sector cemetery administration.…”