Children and Loss

ProfCert
Bereavement and loss

Course details

We know that loss and bereavement have significant personal, community, and health impacts yet are under-studied and not sufficiently incorporated into the curricula of health and social care professionals.

The science around loss, bereavement and resilience continues to evolve, so it is now possible to identify both risk and protective factors and, consequently, to intervene to benefit individual and community health.

When a child experiences loss, either through death or parental separation, their needs are often misunderstood or overlooked. Because children may express their grief in ways that are different to adults, their reactions may go unrecognised.

The Professional Certificate in Children and Loss, a collaborative programme between RCSI and the Irish Hospice Foundation, seeks to equip practitioners with the necessary skills to understand and support children on their grief journey.

The Professional Certificate in Children and Loss consists of two modules:

  • Understanding Children and Loss
  • Addressing Loss Issues with Children

This is a part-time blended course that runs from September to March each year with two modules. Each module consists of approximately 200 hours of learning, including lecture time, self-directed learning, assignment preparation and integrative sessions.

Module 1 (September-December 2024) will be taught online on Zoom (with the exception of the orientation session on 5 September 2024, which will be in-person).

Module 2 (January-March 2025) will be taught in person (with the exception of the 6 March 2025 integrative session, which will be online).

All in-person sessions will be held at the Irish Hospice Foundation, Morrison Chambers, 4th Floor, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin 2, D02 X627 from 9:15am-4:15pm.

Download the course schedule

The programme aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to:

  • Demonstrate a critical understanding of core theories and ethical underpinnings of children and young people’s experiences of death loss and non-death loss in their lives and associated losses and changes.
  • Determine the central principles essential to organisational and personal support while working with bereaved children and young people experiencing a death loss or non-death loss in their lives.
  • Evaluate the impact of a range of losses and changes and how they may be experienced by children and young people at different developmental stages of their lives as a consequence of a death loss or non-death loss, whilst acknowledging the influence of diverse family and inter-generational histories and vulnerabilities, as well as the deprivation associated with systemic and social inequalities.
  • Appropriately assess the resilience of bereaved children and young people as well as their familial and community supports taking account of structural and personal vulnerabilities and mitigating circumstances.
  • Justify appropriate level 1 and level 2 interventions (ICBN, 2014) for children and young people according to their needs.
  • Apply new knowledge and skills into professional practice.
  • Reflect on professional development and personal growth through the educational experience.
  • Exhibit an integrated, value-based, inclusive and evidence-based approach to the support of children and young people after a death or non-death loss in their lives.

Accreditation

This is an RCSI programme, run in association with Irish Hospice Foundation. It is accredited by RCSI and National University of Ireland as a Level 9 qualification. This course design supports the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). RCSI and NUI have awarded the course 20 credits. The programme is designed around Level 9 outcomes as identified in the National Framework of Qualifications.

Module One – Understanding Children and Loss

On successful completion, participants will be able to:

  • Critically evaluate the core theories and ethical frameworks underpinning our understanding of children and young people’s experiences of death loss and non-death loss in their lives and associated losses and changes.
  • Differentiate how a range of losses may be experienced by children and young people at various developmental stages, with reference to diverse family and inter-generational contexts, vulnerabilities, as well as deprivations associated with systemic and social inequalities.
  • Appropriately assess the resilience of bereaved children and young people with reference to familial and community supports, personal and contextual vulnerabilities.
  • Demonstrate reflective practice, self-care and self-awareness.
  • Locate and critique current knowledge from loss-related literature.

Module Two – Addressing Loss Issues with Children

On successful completion, participants will be able to:

  • Critically determine the central competence and ethical principles essential to organisational and personal support while working with children and young people experiencing a death or non-death loss in their lives in relation to community interventions, formal support services and resources available.
  • Evaluate appropriate intervention strategies for working with children and young people experiencing death or non-death loss with reference to appropriate Level 1 and Level 2 interventions (ICBN, 2014) for children and young people according to their needs.
  • Demonstrate a discerning understanding of standards for safe and appropriate
    bereavement care for children and young people.
  • Exhibit an integrated, value-based, inclusive and evidence-based approach to supporting children and young people after a death or non-death loss in their lives whilst acknowledging the influence of diverse family and inter-generational histories and vulnerabilities, as well as the deprivation associated with systemic and social inequalities.
  • Develop critical self-awareness within the scope of professional role and limitations of competence.
  • Reflect on professional development and personal growth through the educational experience.