Overview

This unit provides students with the skills necessary to understand, assess and support individuals, couples and families suffering from trauma, loss and grief issues. Students will be taught the major theories of grief and loss, while also developing their counselling skills in this specialized area. Students will also work with a community agency/industry partner to develop a trauma workshop relevant to a specific client group (individual, couples or families) who has experienced single incident trauma or complex trauma.

Requisites

Prerequisites
PSC70018 Trauma Loss and Grief Counselling

Rules

Pre-requisite
Admission into:
GC-COU Graduate Certificate of Counselling
OR
GD-COU Graduate Diploma of Counselling
OR
MA-COU Master of Counselling

Equivalent
HAYC424 - Trauma, Loss and Grief Counselling

Teaching Periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
29-July-2024
27-October-2024
Last self-enrolment date
11-August-2024
Census date
31-August-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
13-September-2024
Results released date
03-December-2024

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Apply prominent theoretical models of grief and trauma to case examples
  • Demonstrate and critique counselling skills that are essential to working with clients who present with trauma, loss or grief difficulties in professional practice settings
  • Critically evaluate, summarise and present research literature on trauma and loss in both oral and written formats
  • Discuss the importance of self-care for counsellors in the context of professional practice

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Class
3.00 12 weeks 36
Specified Activities
Various
1.25 12 weeks 15
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning
8.25 12 weeks 99
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AnalysisIndividual 30% 1,2,4 
Case Study ReportIndividual 30% 1,2,4 
PresentationGroup 40% 1,3 

Content

  • Major theories relevant to trauma, loss and grief
  • Normal/uncomplicated grief
  • Complicated grief
  • Special losses (e.g., suicide, perinatal, anticipatory grief, disability)
  • Critical incident debriefing
  • Trauma in school settings
  • Supervision and self-care

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.