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Competency assessment and evaluation for all psychological therapies are now a common requirement. Recent international research studies have resulted in the development of the phrase ‘death competence’ as “tolerating and managing clients’ problems related to dying, death, and bereavement” with an urging for death work competence to be an ethical imperative (Gamino & Ritter, 2012). A further study of 176 death work professionals using an open ended question and content analysis proposed a model of death work competence that suggests it is dependent on more than knowledge and skills, with the emergence of emotional and existential coping as key elements (Chan & Tin, 2012). This study aims to build on this existing research with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of six existential practitioners` experience of feeling competent in their death work, grounding the research in Heidegger`s notion of being-towards-death. The aim was to get as close as possible to the lived experience of death work competency in a small, purposive sample to investigate the subjective meanings and understandings of their death work competency. Semi structured interviews were conducted with five major themes emerging. These were frameworks for death work competency; existential engagement in competent death work; existential ways of being in death work; the psychological impact of death work on feelings of competency and the elusive essence of death work competency. The significant finding was the primary import placed by all participants on dialogues with personal mortality, suffering and death as providing them with “competency in adversity” and “competency in fragility” that were vital for their competent death work, both personally and professionally. These findings match the identification of existential coping and emotional coping as key elements in death work competency in the previous research. From this research a tentative framework is proposed for death work competency that looks to include these vital elements of an engagement with existential issues and personal mortality, for counselling psychologists and death work practitioners. Further research is suggested with regards to the absence or presence of similar experiences of death work competencies in other fields of death work with wider implications for training in both professional organisations and teaching institutions.

The purpose of this project is to equip members of Meadowood Baptist Church in Amory, Mississippi, to minister to grieving families following the death of a loved one. The Project-In-Ministry is an implementation-oriented project in which the author included: 1) research into an understanding of grief; 2) development of training sessions to equip those selected which will include a biblical rationale of a grief ministry, a working understanding of the grief process, and a process to minister to grieving families; and 3) training of members of the church to minister to grieving families. The author concluded that through equipping sessions members can be significantly equipped to minister to grieving families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grief is an emotion that people have felt since the beginning of time, but in modern culture, there is a lack of visual representation of the five stages of grief. Because grief is a highly personal and unique experience, it can be difficult to visualize what those stages may look like for the mass population. However, if one could develop an understanding of what each stage includes, as well as a study of the thoughts and feelings of those who have experienced grief, this research could aid in the creation of an accurate representation of the stages of grief. The subject of grief is hard for some people to understand and empathize with because they are not the ones personally experiencing the pain. For those who are going through the grieving process, it can be hard to articulate feelings and emotions. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to create a body of photographs that fully depicts the five stages of grief: shock/disbelief and denial, anger, bargaining/guilt, depression, and acceptance/hope. The design aims to bridge gaps in understanding and help people connect their thoughts and feelings to the imagery they are viewing in order to aid in the healing process.

This research aims to develop the ability of Malaysian Chinese funeral directors to offer grief and loss support to their clients. Providing support is now deemed essential due to the continual transformation of the funeral industry in response to the increased social awareness of life and death processes and a shift towards increasing input and demands from the bereaved regarding elements of the funeral ritual. Advances in the Malaysian Chinese funeral industry in recent years are evident and encouraging, yet comparatively less than those seen in the industry in the United Kingdom, United States, China and Taiwan. This is attributed to professional training carried out at the discretion of individual companies rather than coordinated bodies, and to lesser regulation of the industry in general. A greater understanding of the profession in Malaysia will help clarify current practices and the challenges necessary to underpin future interventions to foster increased professionalism and attend specifically to the needs of the Chinese funeral worker with regards to providing grief and loss support.