Certificates in ThanatologyHenry Predolin School of Nursing, Business, Education, and Health Sciences

12 Credits

Designed for professionals who work with children and adolescents, this certificate examines dying, death, loss, and grief in the context of the family, with special emphasis on supporting children and adolescents. This academic path is appropriate for child life professionals, medical caregivers, social workers, child and adolescent psychologists, and employees or volunteers with family grief centers or grief camps.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Examine and evaluate the role of the family as the unit of care, and the ways family dynamics impact children and adolescents with respect to dying, death, and grief.
• Evaluate the research literature on the attitudes and responses of children and teens to death, loss, and grief.
• Examine current research and literature on suicide among adults (prevention, assessment, intervention, post-intervention, postvention (grief support after suicide), special populations, ethnic/cultural groups, and global context).
• Evaluate evidence-based approaches to assessment, clinical intervention, treatment models, and safety planning for children, teens, and adults.

12 Credits

Designed for individuals working in healthcare, grief support, organ/tissue procurement, funeral service, counseling, clergy/chaplains, volunteers (within, for example, hospice, hospital, funeral home, faith community, senior center, or family grief center) who recognize the need for organizational or community education about death, dying, grief, and loss. This certificate is also appropriate for K-12 and educators in higher education who want to incorporate death and dying into their curricula but are not sure how to go about it or need better content understanding.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Examine best practices in end-of-life care and grief support.
• Develop a course in an area of expertise that meets the individual learning needs of a diverse student population.

12 Credits

Designed for professionals in healthcare, grief support, organ/tissue procurement, funeral service, counseling, and clergy/chaplains who desire to build a skill set in diversity, equity, social justice, and spirituality. This academic path is also appropriate for those who volunteer within hospice facilities, hospitals, funeral homes, faith communities, senior centers, and family grief centers.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Identify, describe, and analyze how the experience of grief can be influenced by socio-economic context, class, race, age, gender, and other cultural variables.
• Analyze the ways “critically reflective” approaches to delivery of care (such as “critical social work”) can enhance social justice at end of life and for the grieving.
• Examine and analyze the theoretical and evidence base for the importance of spirituality in healthcare.

12 Credits

The leaders within faith communities often find themselves overwhelmed when faced with providing end-of-life care and grief support. This certificate offers faith-based community leaders with the information they need to better understand the challenges families face when a family member is dying; and how to best support families in their grief journey.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Examine best practices in end-of-life care and grief support.
• Examine and evaluate the role of the family as the unit of care, and the ways family dynamics impact children and adolescents with respect to dying, death, and grief.
• Explore the ethical and moral challenges and dilemmas faced during the dying process and at the end of life.
• Examine the notion of “total pain” as coined by Dame Cicely Saunders, and how spiritual care can inform compassionate care for the dying and the grieving.

12 Credits

Funeral professionals work within communities and are often the first point of contact after a family member dies. This certificate will offer funeral professionals the tools they need to create and implement excellent aftercare programs for their communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Examine best practices in end-of-life care and grief support.
• Develop a course in an area of expertise that meets the individual learning needs of a diverse student population.
• Examine and evaluate the purposes and practices for ceremonies and rituals to help families plan more meaningful funeral services.

12 Credits

Designed for working professionals, this certificate allows for combining courses from the curriculum into a personalized 12 credit certificate in General Thanatology Studies. It’s geared for professionals who want to craft their own certificate to fulfill individual educational needs. Courses will be determined through consultation with the Program Director.

Learning Objectives:

• Customized learning objectives will be determined in collaboration with the Program Director of Thanatology. Courses are taken at the master’s level and student’s credentials will be factored into the decision-making process.

12 Credits

Geared for licensed professional counselors and others who work in the counseling industry (social workers, coaches) or as part of interprofessional healthcare teams, the certificate in grief and bereavement counseling/support prepares students to build upon their counseling skills in the highly specialized and sensitive areas of dying, death, grief, and loss. Students will explore content that is not typically covered in depth in degree programs that prepare learners for licensure as counselors or therapists.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Articulate and evaluate primary theories, models, and key concepts related to grief.
• Articulate and evaluate best practices for bereavement facilitation for individual adults and families with children or teens.
• Demonstrate practical individual and group facilitation skills through process recordings.
• Describe and assess approaches to diversity in grief counseling and support, including ethnicity, culture, gender, and spirituality.

12 Credits

This certificate offers an overview of the history, theory, and practice of hospice and palliative care; knowledge of family systems; developmental perspectives; and best practices in grief support strategies. These four areas are foundational for effective family care at the end of life and offer students the knowledge and skills they need to support dying individuals and provide families the support they need.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Examine best practices in end-of-life care and grief support.
• Examine and evaluate the role of the family as the unit of care, and the ways family dynamics impact children and adolescents with respect to dying, death, and grief.
• Explore the ethical and moral challenges and dilemmas faced during the dying process and at the end of life.

12 Credits

Geared for licensed professional counselors and others who work in the counseling industry (social workers, coaches) or as part of interprofessional healthcare teams, this certificate in suicidology and postvention (grief support after suicide) prepares students to expand their knowledge and skills base to include the specialized area of suicidology. Going beyond the biomedical illness model in which suicide is considered a symptom of psychiatric illness, our certificate program educates students about evidence-based theory, treatments, and intervention. Students will explore content that is not typically covered in depth in degree programs that prepare learners for licensure as counselors or therapists.

Learning Objectives:

• Discern, reflect upon, and evaluate student’s own relationship with death and grief, both as an individual and a member of society.
• Compare and contrast theoretical models of the cause of suicide.
• Examine current research and literature on suicide among adults (prevention, assessment, intervention, post-intervention, postvention, special populations, ethnic/cultural groups, and global context).
• Evaluate evidence-based approaches to assessment, clinical intervention, treatment models, and safety planning for children, teens, and adults.
• Examine approaches to grief support after suicide.

We understand that students pursuing advanced education in thanatology consider their career to be more of a calling or ministry. Certificates are a perfect fit for students that want additional education, but that do not necessarily want another master’s degree. It’s not uncommon for students to near completion of a certificate program, and decide to pursue their Master of Science in Thanatology degree. The certificate courses are all standard in the master’s degree curriculum and credits earned would be applied toward the master’s degree.

If you have a master’s degree, a post-master’s certificate program will provide a higher level educational experience that you may find more fulfilling while, at the same time, offer your employer evidence of post-master’s level work. Students with a bachelor’s degree will pursue a post-graduate certificate program.

Certificates and certification are often confused when, but they are different. A Certificate in Thanatology does not lead to certification.

Certificate: A certificate is awarded upon completing a course or program of study by institutions of higher education. It demonstrates concentrated knowledge in a specific area of expertise. A certificates program can provide students with focused subject matter expertise in less time than it takes to earn a degree.

Certification: Certification is a professional credential earned by demonstrating experience, meeting continuing education requirements, and often passing an exam. Certifications, usually granted by professional organizations, are recognized as proof of advanced knowledge in a particular field. Certification typically needs to be renewed every three years, and in some cases, can be upgraded as an individual’s expertise and experience grow.

The Association for Death Education and Counseling® (ADEC) offers two levels of certification in Thanatology: Certified in Thanatology® and Fellow in Thanatology®. These certifications require applicants to provide evidence of thanatology-related education as well as experience in the field. Both also require passing a three-hour exam that tests foundational knowledge in the study of dying, death, and bereavement. For more information, visit ADEC’s certification page.