SW 6631 - Clinical Practice with Grief and Loss

This course presents models of grief and bereavement that will be applied to social work practice with individuals and families. Emphasis will be placed on the direct practice knowledge and clinical skills understood in the profession to constitute what is called grief counseling and grief therapy. In addition to the experience of losing a significant other as a result of death, grief/bereavement from other losses (e.g., functional level, role, developmental life transitions, independence, meaning, hopes, ambiguous and disenfranchised loss) will also be considered across the life span. Psychodynamic (Bowlby), Stage (Kubler-Ross), Task (Worden), Attachment-Informed (Jordan, Kosminsky), Dual Process (Stroebe & Schut), Ambiguous Loss (Boss), DSM-V-TR, and Companioning (Wolfelt) models of grief and grief practice will be applied to the process of mourning and its treatment. The Worden model consisting of the ‘Four Tasks of Mourning’ will be the primary model used in this course to guide students in their development of clinical skills with bereaved populations. Additionally, the challenges of mourning specific losses and the practice methods necessary to facilitate the healthy grieving of these will also be discussed. Diverse cultural and faith perspectives related to grief will also be examined in readings and class discussion.