Living Through Loss: A Manual for Those Working with Issues of Terminal Illness and Bereavement / Edition 1

by Alison Shoemark, Margaret Kindlen, Fay Jacobsen

Overview

Based on seven years of experience running training courses throughout Scotland, before further refinement in the United States, this manual is a tried and tested method of training people to counsel and aid others who are suffering loss and bereavement.

The manual features:

* an explanation of the learning method and ethical issues
* role-play exercises to allow trainees to experience common situations
* easy-to-use course material for the facilitator and the participants
* further resources should extra training be desired.

The course confronts the fear of mortality, promoting self-awareness and self-nurturing in carers to prepare them for the pain, fear, anxiety and anger of those who have been abused or grieving, and develops the skills which enable the carer to fulfil their task.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853023958
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/1997
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	8.31(w) x 11.65(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Fay W. Jacobsen has been a health visitor, Lecturer in Health Education at West Lothian College of Further Education and, later, the Department of Nursing Studies at Edinburgh University. She was involved in the organisation of the Scottish Women's Health Fair, and helped found the Gorgie Dalry Well Woman Project. Working freelance for the Scottish Health Education Group together with Alison Shoemark and Margaret Kindlen, she helped develop basic counselling skills training for nurses in Scotland, and published the training manual Sharing Counselling Skills in 1989. She then worked as volunteer at a Rape and Domestic Violence Center in the USA for three years. She is currently a freelance counsellor and psychotherapist.

Table of Contents

Introduction. SECTION 1: LEARNING TO HELP PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH LOSS. The learning method. The learning environment. Principles underlying effective experiential learning practice. Working with groups. The elements of the course. Support structures. Stages in experiential learning. Balancing challenge and support. Role-play as a tool in experiential learning. Trainers have needs too. Practical steps in course planning. SECTION 2: COURSE PROGRAM AND LESSON PLANS. Day one. Program for day one. Lesson plans for day one. Day two. Day three. Day four. Day five. Follow-up day. Additional lesson plans. SECTION 3: FACILITATOR'S MATERIALS. Preparing for the course. SECTION 4: PARTICIPANTS' MATERIALS. Materials for the structured course. Materials for use with additional lesson plans. Extra materials. Structured role-plays. Alternative evaluation forms. SECTION 5: REFERENCES, FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES.

Editorial Reviews

There is a wealth of material in this manual.

Hospice Bulletin

This book evolved from the Scottish Health Education Group's initiative to teach basic counselling skills to nurses. The manual includes all of the materials necessary to plan and conduct the five-day course, as well as a follow-up day for participants. I would recommend this manual.

Journal Of Interprofessional Care

The manual has much to offer social workers at both a practice and educational level. The experiential methodology presents the worker with an opportunity to question the beliefs and skills underpinning their practice may be reconfirmed or perhaps strengthened through the exposure to alternative methods. Given the context, this book has particular merit for social workers interested in working with clients experiencing terminal illness and/or loss. It is a comprehensive educational resource which provides the participant with a serious opportunity to enhance their practice skills.

Australian Social Work

This book could provide useful information as part of an occupational therapy course or departmental library for reference and ideas.

British Journal of Occupational Therapy

Packed with useful material in an easy-to-copy A4 format. It could be used with course participants who already have basic counselling skills in health, social services and volunteer organisations. This manual is worth every penny as a training resource for workers in the field of abuse, terminal death and illness.

Professional Social Work

The training course described is designed to enhance counselling skills, deepen self awareness about loss related issues, enable participants to share personal experiences, identify relevant resources that will support and inform participants and enable the transfer of learning from the course to the work place. The content and structure of the training course admirably meets all the above aims and I am particularly impressed by the design of the course which allows for a progression and sequence that allows the participant to build upon the experience and content of the previous day and thus evolve and deepen their knowledge. The manual is also an excellent resource with a whole section devoted to materials for the facilitators and a further section providing materials for the participants. I was delighted to see a lesson plan devoted to exploring spirituality and found the materials available to participants particularly inspirational. This training manual is comprehensive in its scope and substantial in its content. It is well grounded in experiential learning and I would thoroughly recommend it to trainers of psychotherapists and counsellors. Indeed, this training manual is the best of it's kind and I hope it will be further revised over the years.

Psychotherapy and Counselling