Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required for counsellors to explore the meaning and effect of grief and loss issues and work with individuals and families experiencing grief and loss.
This unit applies to family relationship counsellors who operate with significant autonomy in therapeutic professional service roles in the community sector. The activity is self-directed.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand Standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Explore the client’s understanding of grief and loss | 1.1 Engage with client using their framework and language to establish an environment of safety and trust 1.2 Join with the client to explore client’s understanding of grief and loss 1.3 Assist clients to understand how their unique context has impacted on their experience of grief and loss 1.4 Explain the role of the counsellor in dealing with loss |
2. Assist clients to understand the different impacts of grief and loss | 2.1 Explain the possible range of responses to grief and loss 2.2 Use intervention techniques to assist the client to normalise their responses to grief and loss 2.3 Use correct terminology and concepts in the grief counselling process 2.4 Identify the key issues in bereavement counselling setting 2.5 Apply counselling strategies to diverse responses to grief |
3. Formulate counselling responses to grief and loss | 3.1 Monitor and respond to client presentations including safety and assessed risks 3.2 Assist client to set goals or outcomes for the grief and loss process, dependant upon clients position in grieving process 3.3 Match therapeutic interventions to client’s needs and goals 3.4 Facilitate referrals to other support services where appropriate |
4. Terminate counselling sessions | 4.1 Recognise when the counselling is no longer serving the interests or needs of the client 4.2 Discuss with the client when counselling no longer appears to serve their interest or needs and either renegotiate the professional relationship or terminate the service 4.3 Engage the client in determining any further external interventions as identified and arrange appropriate referrals |
5. Seek feedback from clients about the counselling service provided | 5.1 Review counselling progress and provision regularly with the client 5.2 Obtain feedback from the client throughout and at the conclusion of the counselling service 5.3 Use feedback strategies to encourage client contribution to improved counselling practice 5.4 Review client feedback and use this to inform practice reflection and improvement in conjunction with supervision |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
worked collaboratively with clients and provided counselling to at least 3 different individuals or family groups experiencing grief and loss, including:
adults
children
people from different cultures
used specialised counselling communication skills
addressed a diverse range of loss and grief issues, including those relating to:
child and parental loss
relationships
employment
missed opportunities.
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
legal and ethical considerations for grief and loss counselling, and how these are applied in organisations and individual practice:
codes of conduct
discrimination
duty of care
practitioner client boundaries and implications of unequal balance of power
privacy, confidentiality and disclosure, including limitations
records management
rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations, including situations where usefulness of counselling may be limited and referral is required
work health and safety
different types of grief and understanding attitudes, attachment and anxiety issues associated with grief
difference in grief responses in men and women,
developmental stages and how grief is likely to affect young people and children
impacts of separation and divorce on couples, parents, children and other family members
indicators and dynamics of domestic and family violence and complexities of interpersonal interactions
main approaches used in grief counselling, their underpinning theories, how they compare and their strengths, limitations and contraindications
responses to grief and how these are addressed in different counselling models, including:
disbelief
avoidance
anger
sadness
withdrawal
dissociation
suicidal ideations
self-harming
stress reactions
post traumatic stress disorder
depression
numbing
denial
anxiety
considerations for the counselling process when working with diverse people experiencing loss and grief, including factors relating to:
ability
age
class
culture
ethnicity
gender
sexual orientation
spirituality
counselling and case work processes, including those related to:
contracting and what needs to be agreed
documentation
interactions with other professionals and service providers
interactions with the client, their family, significant others and carers
type and scope of referral options and pathways to support clients seeking interventions and supports beyond or in conjunction with counselling
own prejudices and stereotyping attitudes and the potential influence on counselling practice.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace with the addition of simulations and scenarios where the full range of contexts and situations have not been provided in the workplace. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
use of suitable facilities, equipment and resources, including:
client information
modelling of industry operating conditions, including:
scenarios that involve complex interactions with other people.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.