Description:
OPD Points: 5
Understanding Prolonged Grief is a self-paced, three-hour course designed for professionals, students, carers, and volunteers working in healthcare, mental health, social services, and community support roles. It provides a practical and evidence-informed foundation for recognising and responding to prolonged grief and Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD).
Participants will explore the latest research, diagnostic criteria, and risk factors for prolonged grief, as well as contemporary grief models and real-world strategies to provide compassionate, effective support. The course also highlights the ways in which prolonged grief can impact daily functioning and mental wellbeing — and how timely, informed care can help mitigate this.
By the end of the course, participants will be better equipped to support those at heightened risk of prolonged grief and help prevent the progression to more complex mental health challenges.
This course will take approximately three(3) hours to complete.Â
Key Learning Objectives / Outcomes:
- Define prolonged grief and understand its impact on daily life and well-being.
- Differentiate between typical grief responses and prolonged grief to identify when intervention is needed.
- Recognise key risk factors that contribute to severe and long-term grief responses.
- Explore evidence-based models of grief and how they inform effective support.
- Identify when an individual may be “stuck” in their grief and in need of help.Â
- Understand the role of reflection in grief processing and support.
- Engage cultural sensitivity when responding to grief responses.
Assessment:
Presenter / Provider:
This training program was originally developed by Dr Louise Cooper-Shaw, a specialist in training and development with expertise in applied and educational psychology. Since its launch, the course has been shaped and refined under the guidance of Marianne Bowdler, Griefline’s Clinical Services Manager, with contributions from therapists delivering our Integrating Grief Bereavement Counselling Program and insights from individuals who have accessed our grief and loss support services.
These ongoing collaborations ensure the program remains grounded in the latest research, responsive to lived experience, and aligned with the real-world needs of those supporting people at risk of prolonged grief.
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Presenter Qualifications:
Researched, developed and written by Louise Cooper-Shaw, Master’s in Applied Psychology and a Bachelor’s in Educational Pyschology.
Clinical oversight by Marianne Bowdler, Griefline’s Clinical Services Manager, BA USYD (Philosophy), Bereavement and Psychotherapeutic (person-centred) counsellor, Clinical Supervision (Robin Shohet, London), ASIST Suicide Prevention trainer, Mental Health First Aid trained.
Video inserts by;
- Dr. M. Katherine Shear – Bachelor of Science in Biology with honors from the University of Chicago and a Medical Degree from Tufts University School of Medicine.
- Dr. Susan Delaney – Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the field of bereavement and loss. Served as the Bereavement Services Manager at the Irish Hospice Foundation, where she established and led the Complicated Grief Programme.
Course content researched and developed by; Dr Louise Cooper Shaw – a training and development specialist with a Master’s in Applied Psychology and a Bachelor’s in Educational Psychology. Louise, a long-standing Griefline volunteer and counselling supervisor, curated the program with input from professional therapists, academics, and digital education specialists.Â
Clinical oversight by: Marianne, oversees Griefline’s Integrating Grief Bereavement Counselling Program – supported by the NSW Ministry of Health, and by SEMPHN in Victoria which provides free bereavement support for adults navigating complex grief. Her core training is as a person-centred counsellor and she has a clinical focus on bereavement, attachment and loss. Marianne returned home to Australia and joined Griefline in 2021 after managing the East London Bereavement Service Covid19 response in the UK.Â
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