Grief Support Certification Online Course 

Healing Approach   

In this course, I include alternate and complementary approaches for healing, that are supported in research, and which I have used personally and in professional settings with dying patients and grieving clients. These include energy-transfer-healing, such as therapeutic touch, dream interpretation, therapeutic art, and guided visualization. 

Based on the knowledge of how grief impacts the human being, the content provided in the Grief Support Certification Online course, helps the learner recognize the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual effects of grief, and gain the skills to help grievers heal these effects. 

The Grief Support Certification Online course is designed to acknowledge that the essence of human beings in spiritual, regardless of if, or how, they participate in religious or cultural practices. All healing and education offered in the Grief Support Certification Online course build from this philosophy and from Jungian thought that directs if you want to address the spiritual aspects of human nature you must use soul's language, the language of metaphor and symbol. In this course, learners gain experience interpreting the symbolism that appears in the grief client's dreams, therapeutic art, and guided visualizations.

My personal and professional backgrounds have informed me that often the deepest pain of grief is experienced at a spiritual level. My experiences, and the reports from the hundreds of grieving clients I have worked with, indicate that once the spiritual wounds are healed, the mental, emotional, and physical effects of grief can be more rapidly, more effectively, and more easily, also healed. 

Within the context of this course, spirituality is described as a human being’s personal relationship to what is meaningful to him or her, and what gives direction and purpose to their life. The spiritual needs as identified by Carson and co-authors in Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice are: love, trust, hope, forgiveness, belonging, and meaning and purpose in life. According to these authors and other researchers, all people are considered to have a spiritual dimension regardless, if or how, it is expressed or practiced. Spiritual distress is the suffering experienced when one or more of the spiritual needs are not met, as frequently happens during times of grief. 

Mission Statement 

Since grief affects every aspect of human beings, interventions must be wholistic in nature. The grief theory and associated healing methods taught in the Grief Support Certification Online course are strategies of proven success. They support healing of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual manifestations of grief. Knowledge and skills for helping and healing behaviors that affect the family, and social life, including the work life of grievers, are included as important portions of the learning and healing experiences. 

 Do You Want to Be a Certified Grief Support Counselor? 

Individuals in each of the groups listed below have the potential for experiencing grief. If you are working with, or would like to work with, children, or adults from any of the following, or similar groups, then this training is definitely for you:

1. Anyone grieving the death of a family member, friend or colleague.
2. Anyone grieving the relocation of a family member, colleague or friend.
3. Anyone grieving the incapacity or death of a pet or favored animal.
4.  Anyone grieving a severed relationship such as happens in separation or divorce.
5.  Anyone living with a life-threatening diagnosis.
6.  Anyone living with a life-altering situation, such as a chronic condition or illness.
7.  Anyone grieving the actual and anticipated losses related to the stages of development, such as takes place for children with developmental challenges.
8. Anyone grieving the loss of a body part, or alterations in functioning.
9.  Anyone grieving the actual and anticipated losses related to relocation, such as during relocation to a care facility, or another country.
10. Anyone grieving the loss of culture, cultural practices or language.
11. Anyone about to, or who has recently retired.
12. Anyone who recently lost a job or valued position, including a loss of goals and dreams.
13. Anyone in a rehabilitation situations, residents in Assisted-Living or in a Long-term Care Facility.

Testimonials 

With the healing of my own grief, I appreciated how much more I took from the training. Deciding to not rush through the course really allowed me to dive deeper. The training did a wonderful job of offering both information and counselling tools and strategies to implement right away with clients. The information regarding the left and right hemisphere was so important to learn about, and will also offer for essential insight for the clients I support who are grieving. I really appreciated the variety of creative outlets, and the exploration as to why each activity might have benefit for a client.  Having the unit sheets will also be such a helpful resource to look back on. I believe the format of the training also provides a practical outline for running a grief group. I am passionate about the subject and I will definitely consider doing this. 

Shannon Allen,

Edmonton, Alberta

This training was very thorough and thought about. I very much appreciated the knowledge I gained from the training, the tools, and the art projects for myself and to use with others. This training gently pushed me to places I've never really explored spiritually which has opened my spiritual connection greatly. Dr Simington presents with patience, ease, warmth and connection as if she was just teaching to you only. I feel very competent to move forward in supporting the dying person and their families, as well as others who are experiencing grief in other ways. Thank you Dr. Simington it's been such a honour to have you as my guide, mentor and teacher.

Marina Pavan,

Grand Forks, British Columbia 

I have always wanted to be a counsellor and this program enabled me to see if it was my calling as well as provide me with so much useful information and techniques to use in my personal life as well as my clients. After taking this certification it motivated me to pursue my calling and take a masters in counselling, I am forever grateful to Jane and this wonderful curriculum. 

Aimee Poole,

St. Bedford, Nova Scotia