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.

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. 

Certification

Upon completion, you will receive a digital certificate of competence and badge. Your certificate and badge can be shared on 100+ social media platforms, allowing you to share your achievement with a single click.  

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.

Dates

• Class of 2026 September: 7 September – 1 November
• Class of 2026 October: 12 October – 6 December

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.

FAQs

The Team

The SACAP Global team brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience across various disciplines. Our expert short course developers and dedicated support team are passionate about sharing their insights to help you get the most out of your online learning journey.