The American Academy of Grief Counseling offers a full Continuing Education program of online courses for those seeking to receive an additional Certification in Grief Counseling, related to Child and Adolescent Grief.
Upon completion of the five (5) courses detailed below, applicants are eligible to apply for and receive Certification in Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling, in the American Academy of Grief Counseling. Each course is provided for in a dedicated online classroom. The courses are designed as independent study/continuing education courses, with one-to-one faculty mentoring. There is open enrollment and students may register and begin the education program at anytime.
Certification Program
Those seeking Certification in Grief Counseling must successfully complete the four core courses as detailed below. To review information on the Certification program please view this page: click here
Once Certified as a Grief Counselor, you may then enter and complete the Certification program in Child/Adolescent Grief Counseling. To preview the Certification Program in Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling: access here
Course Fees: Below are listed the required courses for this curriculum. At the end of each course description you will find the course cost listed. All textbooks and learning materials are separate and not included in the course cost.
The following CE Courses have provider approvals:
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education by the South Carolina Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists and Psycho-Educational Specialists licensing board, Provider # 4637.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc. is a licensed Continuing Education Provider in the State of California, Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 15595.
The following CE Courses have provider approvals: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Florida State Board of Nursing Provider # 50-11975.
OTHER STATE BOARDS OF NURSING
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Kentucky Board of Nursing CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
GC 550 – Grieving Children
This course provides a way for grief counseling professionals to be informed on the dynamics and nuances of the delicate subject of children and grief bereavement. The text incorporates anecdotal accounts and narrative excerpts as well as references to published studies. A wide array of related issues are discussed including developmental distinctions of childhood, differential grief effects contingent upon the type of death, guidelines for tending to children’s grief, a special focus on aggrieved children in the school setting, and other topics of concern. A host of counseling/therapeutic suggestions are offered based on the author’s clinical practice. The author of the text and this course focuses on the topics of grieve reactions in children, as well as therapeutic interventions. Course Code: GC 550. Contact hours of Education = 30. Course Fee: $ 150.00
GC 520 – Assessment & Intervention Strategies For Bereaved Children
This course provides the student already familiar with grief theory and children, a storehouse of hands-on assessment and creative intervention methodologies aimed at helping children who are experiencing loss and grief. Through a description and comprehensive presentation of a variety of strategies that identify and assess where children are in the grieving process, the student will develop skill in how and when to apply interventions at various developmental stages in a child’s growth. The student is provided with the theory behind an intervention, the rationale for the intervention, and the grief task it addresses. Full instructions are provided for the effective practice and application of the intervention. Strategies are presented for individual counseling settings, family sessions and peer support groups.
The interventions explained include play therapy, art therapy, story telling and the use of children’s commemorations. Utilizing research from the Dougy Center for Grieving Children, the course also includes a review and description of essential attitudes and communication skills care givers should practice when dealing with the grieving child. Course Code: GC 520. Contact hours of Education = 30. Course Fee: $150.00
GC 555 – Developmentally Based Creative Interventions For Children In Grief
This comprehensive CEU course approaches creative activities for dealing with children in grief from two very essential viewpoints: developmental theory and attachment theory. The course has two critical objectives for the working grief professional. The first objective, treated in the text, The Colors of Grief, is to provide a clear background in the developmental phases of growth and concomitant attachment/loss issues. It describes how development affects a child’s experience of loss. The book will supply you with an excellent outline that can help you choose age appropriate activities to deal with a child’s grief.
The second objective is to provide you with practical activities that can be adapted to the child’s developmental stage. Two workbooks were selected to give you a comprehensive selection of activities: Healing Activities for Children in Grief and Why Did You Die? With these books you will have a collection of hundreds of creative activities that are easily staged but provide very clearly defined grief objectives. It is my hope that these materials will give you a complete approach to creative approaches to child grief in both individual and support group settings. Course Code: GC 555. Contact hours of Education= 30. Course Fee: $ 150.00
GC 560 – Adolescent Grief
This comprehensive CEU course explores the world of the adolescent as it interfaces with death and bereavement. Through the readings selected, you will be given a practical base of information to deal with how an adolescent grieves; how different kinds of deaths impact their lives; the uniqueness of their grief; and effective strategies to help them in their grief journey. You will examine how normal adolescent grief differs from trauma, and how to address both. The differences between adolescent reactions to sudden and anticipated deaths will be explored, as well as issues related to adolescent grief concerns, adolescent reactions to traumatic deaths, and school related issues.
The course presupposes and builds on your knowledge gained in the previous courses in this specialty program. You will find, for example, that the activities manuals provided in the course on developmentally based strategies for children in grief provide excellent strategies that are relevant to the grieving adolescent. Additionally, the books selected presume the student has a solid theoretical understanding of grief. Course Code: GC 560. Contact hours of Education = 30. Course Fee: $ 150.00
GC 565 – Grieving Children: a Clinical And Pastoral Guide In Helping Them Heal
This course removes the ideals of curing grief for children but helping them adapt and grow from grief. This clinical and pastoral guide looks at grief from a child’s perspective and helps counselors learn from the children what grief is to them. The course lists many of the dos and do not’s “grown ups” should adhere to in regards to caring for a child in grief and also helps one understand the nature of grief in the mind of the child. Ultimately the course hopes to help counselors become “companions” of grief to the child and guide counselors in aiding children experience happiness and adjustment in the post loss life. Course Code: GC 565. Contact hours of Education = 30. Course Fee: $150.00.
Additional Information
- Pre-requisite to enrolling in the continuing education program: registrants must be currently Certified in Grief Counseling by the American Academy of Grief Counseling.
- All courses are continuing education courses and are provided in online classrooms via our website. Upon enrollment a unique identification and password is provided for classroom access. The online classrooms provide full syllabi and course information, including the course exams and evaluations. Students must achieve a minimum score of 70% on the course examination to pass the continuing education courses.
- Participants are given two (2) years from the date of enrollment into the first course, to complete the entire program of five (5) continuing education courses.
- Upon completion of each course, you will be awarded the corresponding continuing education contact hours and receive the CE certificate verifying course completion and the award of education credits. Registration may be completed online, by accessing the links.
- Participants must complete the entire continuing education program to be eligible to receive this certification, and must also maintain their current status as a Certified Grief Counselor by the American Academy of Grief Counseling.
Additional Links