educating students in grief and loss counselling
TRANSCRIPT
John Arber 30 minute paper Submission for the HeartScape 2014 Conference
Educating students in Grief and loss counselling. The challenge is preparing the students from the classroom to the counselling room.
From my experience the majority of students who undertake the grief and loss counselling subject have a solid understanding of Rogerian person centred counselling. Whilst this is the basis for building rapport and trust, grief counselling and therapy students often feel uncomfortable as the techniques and interventions are often diametrically opposite to the Rogerian approach. Grief therapy needs to be a pluralistic approach directing mourners at high risk using specific interventions (Raphael, 1983). The language needs to be evocative, there is cognitive restructuring in regards to underlying assumptions, the use of directed imagery, roleplaying and when appropriate the use of medication (Worden2006). My responsibility and passion is to prepare the students for grief therapy and counselling. In other words my role is to prepare the students to move from the class room setting as to feel competent working within a clinical setting with bereaved clients.
According to Lieb, (1991) it is salient to understand andragogy theory to be an effective adult educator. This approach emphasises that learning is collaborative (opposed to didactic) which is problem based and fosters an equality between the educator and student. This is facilitated by using Knowles and Knowles (1959) six principles of adult learning. Moreover I have found by modifying Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory from child to adult learning has been beneficial. Vygotsky’s structured but unobtrusive interventions such as scaffolding leading to the zone of proximal development is the basis for moving from what the student knows towards what needs to be learned (Vygotsky 1978). The evidence that using this mixture is successful is exemplified by robust positive feedback from my students.
This presentation will identify the difficulties teaching grief theory and interventions and will discuss and unpack my own individual method of teaching an emotionally evocative subject.
References
Knowles, M. S. and Knowles, H. F. (1959) Introduction to Group Dynamics, Chicago:
Association Press. Revised edition 1972 published by New York: Cambridge Books
Lieb, S. (1991) Principles of Adult Learning. VISION journal [electronic version].
Fall. Retrieved on 13/01/14 from Honolulu Community College intranet at
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm
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John Arber 30 minute paper Submission for the HeartScape 2014 Conference
Raphael, B. (1983). The anatomy of bereavement. New York: Basic
Vygotsky, L.S. Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge ,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Worden, W. (2006). Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy (3rd ed.) London : Routledge.
Bibliography
John Arber holds a Master of Social Science-Counselling, Graduate Certificate of
Bereavement Counselling and Intervention, Dip AOD, Cert IV in hypnotherapy and Cert IV
TAA. John has worked in the capacity as a counselling services manager developing clinical
programs and writing policy and procedure for an indigenous organisation. Presently John
works in private practice. John is an educator at ACAP, teaching post and undergraduate
students counselling in loss. John has taught at Swinburne undergraduate psychology
students addictions, and grief loss and trauma. In2011 John Presented Two Lectures at the
Guangdong Provincial Number 2 Hospital Guangzhou, PR China and 2013 presented at the
ACAP conference on complex grief.
Contact Details
0418720176
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