Coping with Grief & Loss

Course Overview

Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away.  Each of us experiences and expresses pain in different ways and it can be overwhelming to know how to deal with grief and loss.  

The Coping with Grief & Loss micro-credential will give you a theoretical and practical framework so you can better understand the process of grief and loss.  

This 8-week course helps you develop a better understanding of grief theory so that you can deal with loss and grief, but also empathise and support others going through the process of bereavement. 

The course starts by defining grief and introducing you to core theories associated with grief and loss. You will investigate healthy grief and loss reactions and discover what happens when one is unable to grieve effectively. 

Discover how the process of grief in children and adolescents differs from grief in adults and look at the growth that can occur through the grieving process. 

Furthermore, you’ll challenge pre-existing myths around grief and loss in order also develop a more culturally, socially, and religiously competent view of grief and loss.

Time commitment per week

An average of 10 – 13 hours weekly.

Is this course for you?

If you want to better understand the process of grief – then this micro-credential is for you. 

What is grief and loss?    

Grief is an individual’s response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away.

Dates

• Class of 2025 February: 10 February – 6 April 
• Class of 2025 April: 7 April – 1 June
• Class of 2025 May: 12 May – 6 July
• Class of 2025 July: 7 July – 31 August
• Class of 2025 August: 11 August – 5 October
• Class of 2025 October: 6 October – 30 November

There are no online classes. Course content is released on a weekly basis allowing you to work through course material, and meet weekly targets, at a time that is most convenient to you.

Certification

Upon completion, you will receive a digital certificate of competence as evidence of skills and knowledge demonstrated. 

This course has been designed and developed by experts in the field of psychology. The Coping with Grief & Loss micro-credential is for anyone needing to upskill in this area and offers 80 hours of learning and assessment. 

Learners study online with peers and receive robust academic content while acquiring practical industry-relevant skills. 

Stackable Credentials

Stack specified combinations of micro-credentials and they can be recognised as equivalent to a module within the Bachelor of Applied Social Science Degree at SACAP.

Coping with Grief & Loss can be stacked with Intro to Grief & Loss Counselling and if you meet the minimum entrance criteria, you can enrol for the Bachelor of Applied Social Science Degree and apply for module exemption.

What You’ll Need

• Access to Microsoft Word
• Google Chrome (recommended)
• Stable internet connection

What You’ll Learn

Over the course of eight (8) weeks, through videos, readings and discussions, you will explore the following topics:

• Week 1: Learn about the various perspectives, models and key concepts related to grief and loss. 
• Week 2: Explore Parkes and Bowlby’s attachment theory and Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief model.
• Week 3:  Explore Worden’s tasks of mourning and the Dual Processing model. 
• Week 4: Learn what can be expected in a healthy grief reaction.  
• Week 5: How bereavement and loss are experienced in old age and the impact of palliative and hospice care.  
• Week 6: Explore the social, cultural and religious perspectives on grief and loss.  
• Week 7: Understand unhealthy reactions to grief and loss, specifically around disenfranchised grief and complex grief reactions.  
• Week 8: Investigate the role of self-care in the process of loss, grief and bereavement.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define grief and loss. 
• Compare and contrast contemporary theories and approaches to understanding grief and loss. 
• Describe healthy grief and loss reactions. 
• Describe the process of grief and loss in the elderly from the viewpoints of multiple stakeholders. 
• Identify a range of cultural, social and religious perspectives and beliefs related to grief and loss.  
• Provide guidelines to manage disenfranchised grief and complex grief reactions.  
• Provide recommendations for self-care. 

The Team

Our short course developers and assessors are expert practitioners. They have been selected for the breadth and depth of experience in their respective disciplines. The team loves sharing their knowledge and online learning expertise to help you get the most out of your learning journey.