School Closure and Loss: Guiding a District Through the Change Process

This case study is designed for aspiring principal and superintendent leadership candidates who are studying transitions, change theory in organizations, or board/superintendent relations. It examines the arduous process of closing a school and making huge cuts in a small district because of declining enrollment and expenditures that far outweighed revenue. In this case study, the superintendent and leadership team play the complex roles of communicators, grief counselors, organizers, and change agents.

Living Disconnected: Building a Grounded Theory View of Bereavement for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

This grounded theory study gathered descriptions the bereavement experience for adults with intellectual disabilities (IDD) through the eyes and voices of a small sample of grief counselors. The counselors described bereaved adults with IDD as individuals who faced potentially heightened effects of the broken attachment bonds, increased risk of coping obstacles, long histories of unrecognized losses, and disenfranchised grief. The participants described bereaved adults with IDD (who sought treatment) as getting pushed to the sidelines to deal with their losses in isolation and confusion. It became evident that though there are many similarities between how all people cope with loss and how people with IDD cope with loss, differences exist. Subtle variations in the experience of loss and grief appear to be driven by culture and beliefs about disability and protection for those with IDD. The participants in this dissertation study contributed foundation data for a theoretical explanation of grief for adults with IDD grounded in data from bereavement counselors.

Professionals' Experiences of Grief Counseling: Implications for Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice

Despite the escalating interest in grief interventions, there is a clear misalignment between contemporary grief research and grief counseling practices, and this disparity may limit intervention effectiveness. Semi-structured interviews with 19 grief counselors revealed their current practices of grief counseling. The counselors' descriptions of grief and their grief counseling practices were diverse and many were influenced by classic grief theories and the grief work hypothesis. The grief counselors described negotiating several issues and dilemmas in their work and provided recommendations for achieving greater exchange between research and practice. The findings have the potential to inform the delivery, efficacy, and relevance of grief counseling in Western Australia.

Bereavement Interventions for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: What Works?

Examination of the theory base for bereavement and loss is currently just beginning for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Yet, as life spans increase for individuals with ID, these adults experience more and more loss and bereavement events. Practitioners, especially grief counselors, are finding it increasingly critical for them to understand best practice principles for working with bereaved adults with ID in their daily work. Practitioners also are asked to guide families and care providers regarding grief and death education. This article provides counselors and other professionals with a review of existing bereavement intervention research for adults with ID. Practice recommendations are made on three levels: informal support; formal intervention; and community education.

Health Connections

Nearly half of Zambia's population is under 15 years old, with an estimated 630,000 “AIDS orphans,” children who’s parents have died from HIV/AIDS, and are now left to survive without complete families. Zambian caregivers of these AIDS orphans have been overwhelmed with the task of providing grief counseling services to these children. Nursing professionals at the University of the Incarnate Word responded to the professional development needs of grief counselors in Zambia, and launched Health Connections in 2004-2006. Health Connections is a cross-cultural grief education program designed to educate caregivers in a rural Zambian village on how to help grieving children. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Health Connections “train-the-trainers” program.

Exploring the Link between Aids-Related Grief and Unsafe Sex

This review article focuses attention on the impact of AIDS deaths on gay survivors, in particular whether the complex nature of AIDS-related grief contributes to increased sexual risk behavior among these survivors. There has been surprisingly little research investigating the association between AIDS-related grief and sexual risk behaviors. This article describes aspects of the bereavement experience of AIDS survivors in an effort to understand how such factors might potentially influence survivors to engage in high risk behaviors. Suggestions are offered to both grief counselors and HIV prevention educators on how to address this issue with bereaved gay individuals.

War, Death, and Bereavement: How We Can Help

War imposes many hardships on both service people and those they leave behind. One of the greatest fears during wartime is the potential for loss of life. Death in wartime creates a bereavement situation that has been relatively ignored in bereavement literature. During this wartime period, grief counselors and pastoral counselors will surely find themselves faced with mourners suffering from losses during the war. This article explores the literature on this topic, explains why this form of grief is particularly complicated, and suggests a strategy for intervention.

A Comparison of Non-Certified and Certified Grief Counselors in Regard to Education, Experience, Credentials, and Supervision

This study utilized a causal-comparative research design to explore the similarities and differences between non-certified and certified grief counselors in the areas of education, training, experience, credentials, and supervision. Respondents included 623 non-certified and certified grief counselors, all of whom were members of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). The response rate was 63 percent. The findings of this study provide data on certified and non-certified grief counselors who are members of ADEC. Certified grief counselors report significantly more experience as counselors at the post-master's level, significantly more grief counseling experience, significantly more credentials, significantly higher mean composite scores on the 14 knowledge areas adapted from ADEC (1995) and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), and significantly higher scores on 12 of the 14 individual knowledge areas. ADEC is the oldest multi-disciplinary professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in death education, bereavement counseling, and care of the dying. Through theory and research, ADEC provides information, support, and resources to its multicultural membership, and through them, to the public. ADEC is the only professional organization that provides credentialing in grief counseling and death education.