GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIAL WORK
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK
COURSE NUMBER: SOWK 8218
Title: Loss, Grief, and Social Work Intervention
Instructor: Adams
Semester Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: Graduate Student Status
I. Description
Individuals, families, groups, and communities all experience loss. Losses may be developmental and expected, and some are traumatically unexpected. Losses come with life transitions, changing relationships, and, of course, death. Many of the clients with whom a social worker will interact will need assistance understanding and adjusting to losses and grief reactions.
This course will provide a theoretical basis for understanding responses to significant losses. There will be a focus on how losses can lead to personal transformation and growth or to dysfunctional patterns of living. How grief is experienced differently in different populations and groups will also be explored. The influence of spirituality on one’s grief experiences will be an additional focus for presentation and discussion.
Along with a general and theoretical understanding of loss, grief, and mourning, there will also be a focus on particular losses of interest to the class. Guest speakers will be utilized to give personal perspectives on these loss experiences.
Exposure to the pain and trauma of loss is a challenge for social workers who assist others with grief and loss issues. How to maintain one’s professional role and emotional health will be discussed and explored before the conclusion of the course.
Objectives of course
1. Understanding of the roles that loss and grief plays in developmental life crisises, both expected (i.e. birth, marriage, death in old age) and unexpected (i.e. miscarriages, divorce, birth of a child with a disability, death of a child).
2. Awareness of factors that mediate the grieving process such as gender, race/ethnicity, culture, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability/ableness.
3. Understanding of the concept of disenfranchised grief.
4. Understanding of the processes of grieving and mourning.
5. Ability to differentiate grieving and depression.
6. Understanding of the variety of types of complicated mourning.
7. Understanding the consequences when grieving stops or is stunted.
8. Understanding of the common misconceptions and needs of grieving children.
9. Awareness of the role of spirituality in one’s grief and coping.
10. Understanding about the relationship between theory, specific losses, and related grief responses of interest to the class and the individual student.
11. Awareness of one’s own loss experiences and related grief responses.
12. Awareness of the impact that working with people who are coping with loss has on the clinician.
III. Units and Contents
Unit 1: Grief and Loss Theory and Fundamentals (5 weeks)
Week 1: Introduction to Course Outline and Basic Concepts
Aug. 19
Course expectations
Pervasiveness of loss
Overview of grief concepts
Grieving style inventories
Week 2: Loss and Children
Aug. 26
Readings to be assigned
Myths and Needs of Grieving Children—Wolfelt model
Videotape: “What About Me?”
Lessons from Lions—slide presentation
Mediating Variables
Individual
Characteristics of the loss
Environment
Film excerpts: Finding Nemo, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Week 3: Losses Throughout the Developmental Life Cycle
Sept. 9
Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan by Walter and McCloud
Chapters 1-5
Students will choose theme for written assignments
Personal Loss History due
Week 4: Losses Throughout the Developmental Life Cycle continued
Sept. 16
Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan by Walter and McCloud
Chapters 1-5
Week 5: Test —first half of class
Sept. 23
Second half of class:
Unit 2: Grief Counseling, Cultural Concerns and Grief at the End of Life (7 weeks)
Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling by Winokuer & Harris
Chapters 1-3
Three-Sided Houses—essay to be provided
Cultural presentation assignments to be agreed upon
Week 6: Grief Counseling Basics
Sept. 30
Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling by Winokuer & Harris
Chapters 4-6
Interview themes to be chosen
Week 7: Living Losses, Emotions and Grief Gone Awry
Oct. 7
Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling by Winokuer & Harris
Chapters 7-9
Topics to be chosen for guest speakers
Week 8: Clinician’s Toolbox, Ethics, Caregiver Issues and Trends
Oct. 14
Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling by Winokuer & Harris
Chapters 10-13
View Turning Toward the Morning—video
Books for book review to be chosen
Week 9: Class will not meet
Oct. 21
Reflections due—turn in electronically
Week 10: Mourning a Death in Different Cultures
Oct. 28
Brief presentations on different cultural experiences of grief.
Week 11: Test—first half of class
Nov. 4
Second half of class:
End of Life Issues and Palliative Care
Video from Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care: Speaking the same language
Week 12: End of Life Issues and Palliative Care
Nov. 11
Readings to be assigned
Film excerpt from Shadowlands
Video from the Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care: Supporting a patient facing death
Unit 3: Focus on Particular Losses (2 weeks)
The class will assist in choosing topics for additional discussion and guest speakers. Supplemental readings will be assigned for the different topics chosen. The teacher will be responsible for arranging guest speakers, and students will participate in a group interview of each group speaker.
Topics listed below are potential topics to be covered since all those topics cannot be covered within the time constraints of the semester. The impact of each selected loss, as it varies by mediating factors, will be covered.
Divorce
Pet loss
Rape, assault
Infertility
Family violence (partner abuse, child abuse, elder abuse)
Substance abuse
Mental illness
Job related losses
Children, loss, and grieving
Developmental disability
Life threatening illnesses (AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc.)
Aging
Disability related to trauma
Positive losses
Cultural differences and similarities
Week 13: Guest speakers on topics of students’ choosing
Nov. 18
Week 14: Class evaluation and additional guest speaker
Nov. 25
Discussion of guest speakers
Interview paper due
Unit 4 : Additional Concerns for the Professional
Week 15: Maintaining Caregiver Health and Growth
Dec. 2
Readings to be assigned
Video from Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care:
Suffering and bereavement
Wrap-up
Book review paper due
IV. Methods of Instruction
Course content will be presented in a variety of ways. Basic information about grief and loss will be presented through lectures, readings, films, music and class discussion. Guest speakers will also be used to help learn about specific types of losses. Class members are encouraged to share resources with other members. Please feel free to bring related materials to share. Individual and group exercises may also be employed.
V. Textbook s
Walter, A.W. & McCoyd, J.L. (2009). Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan: A Biospsychosocial Perspective. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Winokuer, H. R. & Harris, D. L. (2012). Principles and Practice of Grief Counseling. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Supplemental readings will be provided as indicated above.
VI. Methods of Evaluation
The course grade will be based on the completion four written assignments, two tests, and a brief presentation to the class. The written assignments include a personal loss history, a reflection on a grief-related video, an interview with a person who has experienced a loss and a book review and critique. The interview should have a loss theme chosen by the student and approved by the instructor and the book for the book review should be approved by the instructor before the paper is written.
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Personal Loss History: An approximately 7-page paper chronicling the student’s own history of losses will be due the third week of class. Processing how one coped with and adjusted to the particular losses should be included. Only disclose to a level of comfort. If you have concerns, please see your instructor. This assignment will be worth 10% of the final grade.
Test s : The first test will be given in the fifth week of class covering lecture and assigned readings up to this point. The second test will be given the eleventh week of class covering lecture and assigned readings since the first test. Each test will include short-answer and short-essay questions only. Partial credit on answers will be given where possible. Each test will be worth 20% of the final grade.
Written Reflection: A written reflection on the video, Turning Toward the Morning, will be submitted electronically following the viewing of the video in the eighth week of class and before the beginning of class time on the ninth week of class. The reflection should focus on thoughts and feelings relating to each of the three stories presented in the video and to the experience of watching the video. Thoughts on the adjustment and meaning-making of each of the narrators should be included. A summary of the stories is not required nor needed in this assignment. This paper should be a minimum of 4 pages in length and should be written in the first person. This assignment will be worth 5% of the final grade.
Brief C ultural Presentation: The presentation is expected to be approximately 5 minutes in length and will take place in the tenth week of class. Each student will be expected to educate the class about a unique grief experience or mourning ritual found in a particular culture as agreed with the instructor beforehand. This assignment will be worth 5% of the final grade.
Interview: The student will interview someone who has experienced a loss that has been previously chosen by the student in consultation with the instructor. The person interviewed should be told that the intent of the interview is fact-finding and not therapeutic. The topics covered in this approximately 7 page written assignment will be:
a. identify the person by role and demographics (do not use actual names)
b. describe loss experienced by the person
c. describe the process of grief and mourning experienced by this person
d. describe how this loss impacted the life of the person interviewed
e. relate the content of the interview to Schneider’s theory of grieving
Evaluation of the assignment will focus primarily on sections c through e. This assignment will be worth 15% of the final grade and will be due in the fourteenth week of class.
Book Review and Critique of Grief-Related Nonfiction Book
· 10-12 page paper
· Nonfiction book on grief-related topic—book to be approved by instructor
· Paper to include
o Summary of major themes and points of the book
o Comparison of book’s understanding of grief compared to models in reading and class presentations
o Strengths and attractions of the themes and insights regarding grief presented in the book
o Weaknesses and limitations of the themes and insights regarding grief presented in the book
· This assignment will be due on the last week of class and will be worth 25% of the final grade.
Assignment review: Due Date Grade %
· Personal loss history Sept. 9 10
· Test Sept. 23 20
· Reflection on video Oct. 21 5
· Brief Cultural Presentation Nov. 4 5
· Test Nov. 11 20
· Interview paper Nov. 25 15
· Book review and critique Dec. 2 25
Grading Scale: 92-100% A
82-91 B
72-81 C
71 & below F
All written assignments should be typed and double-spaced.
Correct form, grammar, usage, and spelling will be considered in grading of assignments.
Late assignments will be penalized 5 percentage points per day unless advance arrangements are made.
Information for contacting me:
Greg Adams
364-6549 w
773-4885 cell
Honor Code Statement
All students registered for all courses in the School of Social Work are expected to adhere to the rights, responsibilities, and behavior as articulated in the UALR Student Handbook and the NASW Code of Ethics. An essential feature of these codes is a commitment to maintaining intellectual integrity and academic honesty. This commitment insures that a student of the School of Social Work will neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in academic work, thereby affirming personal honor and integrity.
If cheating or plagiarism is found on any assignment, no credit will be given for the assignment and a report will be made to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Attendance Policy
Learning in a graduate professional program is based in large part on interaction that occurs between the instructor and students in the classroom. Regular attendance at classes is an expected professional responsibility of the student. Absences greater than 20% of total class time may constitute grounds for course failure.
Disability Support Services
It is the policy of UALR to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal law, state law, and the University’s commitment to equal educational opportunities. Any student with a disability who needs accommodation, for example, in seating placement or in arrangements for examinations, should inform the professor at the beginning of the course. The Director of the department offering this course is also available to assist with accommodations. Students with disabilities are also encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Support Services, which is located in the Student Union Annex, Room 109, telephone 569-3142.
7.29.2013