GRIEF & BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING (Fully Accredited)

In our first lecture of this course we will discuss what is ‘counselling’. We will have a look at various definitions of ‘counselling’ with the aim of understanding the difference between ‘counselling’, ‘therapy’, ‘psychotherapy’ and so on. 

This is an introductory lecture to the course but an important nevertheless as it sets the foundation for your further knowledge of this topic. 

In this lecture we will have a look at several core skills that are important to have for anyone who wants to work as a counsellor. 

There are certain things that come to your mind whilst you are reading this. For example, you might be thinking that counsellors need to be attentive and care for what their clients have to say. So what else can we add to that, from a professional point of view? 

Let’s discuss it here!

In this lecture we will be discussing several counselling and psychotherapeutic approaches that are used in therapy today. In this lecture you will understand that two therapists working with the same issues can use very different methodology in their therapeutic work, and this is why we can see why some therapeutic approaches benefit certain people whereas others do not. This is why it is always advisable to anyone who is seeking therapy to do some research on various counselling methods and to chose the most appropriate ones to their current problems. 

In this lecture we will be looking at various definitions that are related to the main topics of our course - ‘grief’ and ‘bereavement’. We will also discuss the main symptoms of grief and what is expected when the person is going through mourning and grief. The main thing to remember that grief and bereavement can be experienced differently by different individuals, and some people would be affected more than others. So what do we call ‘grief’ and what is ‘bereavement’? Let’s start our lesson!

In this lecture you will get familiarised with the concept of ‘bereavement counselling’. Here you will understand for example, what bereavement counsellors do, what their roles and responsibilities are, what skills they need to have in order to work with people in grief, and how they can help their clients. 

In this lecture we will have a look at various beliefs that people hold towards ‘death’ and ‘dying’, for example religious and spiritual beliefs, philosophical and non-philosophical attitudes, and so on. As you can imagine, such views and beliefs can number in hundreds, so we will be looking at several main ones and the causes of such beliefs. Finally, we will discuss how these attitudes affect people’s thinking and behaviour in every day life. 

In our previous lecture we were looking at various views related to death and dying whether they are based on religion or not. In this lecture we are looking at the views of children and adolescents. How do they shape their beliefs? Where do they get their information from? Can they cope easier than adults and older people do when someone is discussing the topic of death and dying? 

In this lecture we will continue talking about views, beliefs and attitudes of people from various cultures towards ‘death’ and ‘dying’. Here we will focus more on spiritual and religious beliefs and views, and how they see the transition from ‘life’ to ‘death’, the ‘afterlife’, and the attitudes towards ‘suicide’. This is another very interesting lecture that I hope you will enjoy!

Here we start our new (module) on ‘what happens when we die’. In this section we’ll have a look at such topics as ‘the signs and symptoms of death’, ’physiology of death-related process’, ‘what is grief’, ‘what we call ‘complicated grief’’ and so on.

So let’s start our first lecture with the discussion of what happens to the person before they die, the signs and symptoms of death-related process such as their emotional and psychological state, and so on. Then, we will focus on physiology of dying process, or in other words, what happens to our body when it is beginning to die.

In this lecture we are discussing our topic on ‘grief and bereavement’ and particularly ‘experience of grief’. Some theorists suggest that everyone goes through certain stages when they are grieving after a death of someone close, or when they are preparing for their own death. So let’s have a look at the main theories that explain the experience of death in their own ways. 

As you know by now, grief can be experienced differently by various individuals. For some it might be a long-term experience complicated by severe depression, for others it can be a short experience. There are those who admit that they still haven’t grieved for their loved one. So in this lecture we will discuss various forms of grief and will particularly focus on ‘complicated grief’: its signs and symptoms, and the potential health-related consequences for it. 

In our previous lectures we’ve already started discussing the topic of depression. Now you know that ‘depression’ is one of the stages of grief, and that complicated grief can lead to clinical depression. In this module we will be going through five video lessons on the topics related to depression. So let’s start our first lecture with the discussion of ‘sadness’ Vs ‘depression’. 

Many people associate grief with depression, but as we have discussed earlier, depression is one of the stages of grief which eventually passes. Another important point to note is that not everyone in grief will experience depression. You might have heard some people who say, ‘I still haven’t grieved’. And what they mean is that they still haven’t experienced depression and they didn’t cry. Other people will experience long-term depression as a result of grief and bereavement to the point that it is difficult to pinpoint where grief ends and where depression starts. 

So far we’ve been discussing the term ‘depression’ continuously throughout this course, because as we said earlier, many people associate ‘grief’ with ‘depression’. In this lecture we will continue discussing the topic of ‘depression’ and will particularly look at various types and symptoms of this mental health disorder. 

In this lecture we will be discussing how a medical practitioner diagnose depression. As you know by now, there are many signs and symptoms that the person is suffering from depression. But many of those symptoms can be related to their grieving experience. So how would a medical practitioner distinguish the two, make an appropriate diagnosis, and prescribe the needed treatment? Let’s discuss it in this video lesson!

So far you have learned a great deal about ‘depression’, it’s causes and its relevance to grief and bereavement. In this lecture we will be looking at several different treatments that are available today to people who experience depression. Some of these treatments are called ‘alternative’ and often are seen as ‘additional’ rather that the ‘main’ options for prescribed treatments. So let’s discuss them here.

Hello and welcome to the new module and final module of this course - ‘Counselling process and methods’. In the first lecture of this module we will be discussing ‘the loss of ‘self’’ which is important part of the grieving process. When we grieve because of someone’s death, we grieve because we ‘lost’ them, but in the process we get affected too as if we lost a part of ourselves too. So let’s discuss this interesting topic here. 

Nothing can prepare us for a death-related experience, even when we know when someone is terminally ill and going to die soon. Death of a loved one makes us cease everything we we were doing before the event, and question our own existence. But what happens when death was sudden and unexpected, as a result of violence? How does the person accept and adjust to this experience? This is what we will be discussing in this lecture. 

In this lecture we’ll go through several principles that are essential when counselling the dying. This kind of counselling tend to be related to terminal illness, but can be also related to counselling the dying as a result of a severe accident. What can you say and what shouldn’t you say in those circumstances? Let’s discuss it here.

As we’ve been saying earlier, grieving is a complex process that involves many feelings and emotions. Some of them can feel as ‘contradictory’ to others, other ones would feel confusing and overwhelming. Grieving involves several stages which includes ‘acceptance’ as the final stage. Is everyone able to reach it though? What does ‘acceptance’ look and feel like? This is what we will discuss in this lecture. 

In this final lecture of this course we will be looking at various ways to end counselling sessions when the time comes. Some clients may be well prepared for this ‘ending’, whereas others may feel that they need to continue. Here we will have a look at various situations when counselling should or should not be continued. Let’s proceed to the final lecture now!

In this final lecture your tutor is saying her 'thank you' and 'good bye' to you, and how you can contact her to continue your learning