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Browsing by Subject "Loss"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Grief Counseling Best Practices at University Counseling Centers: Current Preparedness and Future Directions
    (2015-08) Kim, Yang-Hyang (Ryoka)
    Studies indicate that bereavement is a more commonly experienced phenomenon among traditional aged college students than is generally assumed (Balk, 2008). In addition to their unique developmental tasks, bereaved students are also burdened with additional stressors, such as pressure to stay academically strong, sense of social isolation, as well as psychological and physical disturbances triggered by the death loss (Neimeyer, Laurie, Mehta, Hardison, & Currier, 2008; Stroebe, Schut, & Stroebe, 2007). The present study aimed to explore four research questions associated with grief counseling best practices in university settings. These questions are: 1) How did clinicians become interested in the area of grief and loss (origin of interest)?; 2) How prepared are UCCs in supporting grieving students (current preparedness)? 3) What are the criteria for grief counseling best practices at UCCs (areas of grief counseling best practices)?; and 4) What can UCCs and their grief specialists do to provide best practices in supporting grieving students (future directions)? After obtaining approval from the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board, a total of 38 university counseling clinicians with special interests in grief counseling were invited to participate in the current study. Eight participants completed a 60-90 minute semi-structured phone interview, consisting of six demographic questions and 10 interview questions related to the research questions. The data were qualitatively analyzed with a team of researchers, following the Consensual Qualitative Research method (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill et al., 2005). As a result, nine major themes, called domains, were rendered. These domains were the following: Domain 1: Origin Of Interest; Domain 2: Grief Counseling Training And Preparation; Domain 3: Available Grief Support; Domain 4: Therapist's Characteristics; Domain 5: College-Specific; Domain 6: Perception Of Readiness; Domain 7: Importance Of Grief Services; Domain 8: Areas Of Grief Counseling Best Practices; and Domain 9: Future Directions. In the discussion section, clinical implications of the results are addressed under the framework of the four research questions. For Origin of Interest, the results suggested that both personal and professional events contributed to the development of participants' interest in grief counseling. In particular, participants highlighted the influence of unplanned life events. For Current Preparedness, participants noted mixed levels of preparedness, both within themselves and for sites. Limited resources and staff availability were frequently addressed across participants. For Best Practices, the results indicated eight areas of grief counseling best practices: 1) Self-Awareness, 2) Debunking Myths, 3) Self-Care, 4) Emotional Tolerance, 5) Staying Current with Grief Education and Training, 6) Multicultural Competencies, 7) Assessment, and 8) Comprehensive Support. These suggested areas were examined in relation to the findings of existing literature. Lastly, Future Directions of grief counseling best practice were discussed. The results indicated four areas of improvement, including Grief Groups, Grief Training, Collaborations with Other Offices, and Outreach and Workshops. Specific suggestions and possible challenges in making proposed changes were further discussed. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research were also discussed.
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    School social work with grieving children in the Twin Cities
    (2009-11) Quinn-Lee, Lisa
    A review of the literature reveals few articles that deal with social work with grieving children in the public school setting. The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze the services that school social workers provide to grieving children. Grieving children are defined as those who have experienced loss through death of someone significant (e.g., parent, sibling, grandparent, friend). This research addressed the following questions: 1) What are school social workers' experiences working with grieving children? 2) What services are provided? 3) Which interventions do school social workers utilize? 4) To what community resources do school social workers refer grieving students? 5) How prepared do school social workers feel to provide support to grieving children? 6) How and by whom are grieving children identified and assessed? 7) Are other disciplines providing services to grieving children in schools? If so, what services are they providing? and 8) Do barriers exist in providing school social work to grieving students? If yes, what are they? A purposive sample of 105 school social workers was selected based on the following criteria: (a) currently licensed in Minnesota as a school social worker, (b) currently employed as a school social worker in the Twin Cities, and (c) currently a member of the Minnesota School Social Workers Association. One hundred five school social workers were invited to participate in two parts of the study. Fifty-nine agreed to participate in the preliminary e-mail survey. Subsequently, of the 59, 22 school social workers were interviewed in-person for approximately 45-60 minutes. This exploratory study required an open-ended, inductive approach using qualitative methods. Interviews were transcribed and coded through NVivo qualitative analysis software. Major codes were developed using the guided interview questions. Constant comparison was also utilized. The data analysis identified four main themes in the responses: (a) barriers to helping grieving students, (b) limitations placed on how grief is defined, (c) social workers' wide range on preparation for dealing with grief and loss issues, and (d) referring grieving students to outside resources. Subthemes were developed under each theme. School social workers faced various barriers in helping grieving children, including parents' privacy and confidentiality concerns, teachers' lack of support, lack of time, lack of resources, being limited on what can be discussed in public schools related to religion and spirituality, and no private space to meet with students. School social workers reported that the definition of grief encompassed much more than grief over the death of a family member. Grief for children comes in many forms, including death of a parent, death of extended family member, student death, divorce, and pet loss. All school social workers interviewed recognized that they could not be available to students at all times and could not provide all the services that grieving students need. They realized that it was necessary for them to have good referral sources for the students, including various outside agencies and community resources. School social workers are not always receiving the type of training that is necessary to work with grieving students. They believed that they received little preparation in assisting children with grief and loss issues, and that they only received education on this topic if they sought it out themselves and took elective courses or continuing education. Implications for practice: (1) School social workers' education should include courses that look at the types of grief experienced by children and be provided specific training in how to deal with grief. (2) School districts need to reconsider the budget allotted to hiring school social workers and to the resources they need. School social workers' roles should be expanded so they can respond to new and emerging needs of grieving students. (3) Social workers in the community and social workers in the school should communicate more with each other about their roles in helping grieving children, and this could help decrease duplication of services.