Perceived Competency in Grief Counseling: Implications for Counselor Education

Abstract

Grief is regarded as a critical life event. Unresolved grief issues can interfere with quality of life and can result in emotional, behavioral, physical and cognitive symptoms, and if unresolved, can result in suicidal ideation. Counselors can be called upon and often do work with grief issues in clients, including U. S. Military veterans. This study examined whether 93 master’s level counselors specializing in rehabilitation counseling reported having been adequately trained to identify and work with clients who are having grief-related issues from loss or disability. Using the Grief Counseling Competency Scale (GCCS), participants showed a wide range of scores regarding personal competency related to grief. However, scores tended to be low when examining skills and knowledge relating to grief counseling. Implications for further research are discussed.

Perceptions of Grief Education in Accredited Counseling Programs: Recommendations for Counselor Education

“…A nonexperimental, one-shot survey comparative design was employed. The GCCS chosen and modified for this study was a redesigned version of the Death Competency Scale (Charkow, 2002;Cicchetti et al, 2016). The modified GCCS was designed to measure master's-level mental health counseling students' interpretations of their perceived related training and ability to treat clients experiencing grief or loss.…”

“…Given that grief is an experience that essentially all people will experience, the need for competency as grief counselors exists. Given the gap in the literature regarding master's-level counseling students' self-reported competency, training, and education in providing grief counseling (Cicchetti et al, 2016;Ober et al, 2012), the purpose of the present study, based on research gathered during one of the author's dissertations (Wood, 2016), was to examine master's-level counseling students' perceptions of preparedness for identifying and working with clients presenting with grief issues and in providing grief counseling to clients in need. The significance of the study is unique in that it addresses an important and under-researched area of the competency of master's-level counseling students in providing grief counseling (Doughty Horn et al, 2012;Ober et al, 2012).…”

“…Anyone can experience some form of loss during a lifetime. According to Breen and O'Conner (2011), a person can experience loss due to divorce, separation, breakup, or estrangement, or a host of other reasons (Cicchetti, McArthur, Szirony, & Blum, 2016). Individuals can experience loss of capacity, loss of job, or loss caused by natural, human-induced disasters, or a hybrid version of such (Rozalski, Holland, & Neimeyer, 2017;Worden, 2018).…”

Hidden Pain: Children Who Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID-19 and What the Nation Can Do to Help Them

“…Only 8 percent of MHPs in a recent survey had taken any course in grief interventions, and fewer than 20 percent noted that their universities even offered related courses. 135 Additionally, the pandemic has exploded the need for pediatric mental with academic and healthcare partners; and…”

Strengthening Rehabilitation Professional Identities: Including Grief Education as a Psychosocial Aspect of Disability

“…However, similar to the stumbling blocks encountered in the medical disciplines, early efforts and attempts to address grief issues and include grief education in rehabili-tation counseling dissipated along with several advocating voices (e.g., Hunt, 2007;Hunt & Rosenthal, 2000;Stebnicki, 2000). Even recently, there have been only a couple in-depth studies that attempt to bring this important theme back to attention (Cicchetti et al, 2016;Heatherly, 2016).…”