‘Working With Loss’ aims to help volunteers provide appropriate and ethical support, and recognise when to refer people for professional (level 3) support. The course includes three modules:
- grief models and key concepts
- boundaries of level 2 support
- key skills and working with children.
Speaking on behalf of the Advisory Group of voluntary organisations which provide bereavement support, Sharon Vard, CEO of Anam Cara, said: “Volunteers who support a person who is bereaved are performing a rewarding but demanding role. They need to feel valued for the support they provide. This e-learning course offers advice on the policies, procedures and standards that organisations must adopt to ensure their volunteers are protected and supported as well as suitably trained.”
Breffni McGuinness, Irish Hospice Foundation’s training and development officer, said: “The Petrus report 2007 reviewed bereavement support provision in Ireland and recognised the great work that is being done by organisations and volunteers. It also highlighted the need for quality training in bereavement support to be available nationwide. One of the IHF’s responses has been to work with other organisations to develop this e-learning bereavement support training which is available anywhere nationwide where there is access to the internet. Working with Loss is an accessible, high quality tool that will provide organisations with an important building block for their training programmes.”
This training course is the second in a series of bereavement support training resources produced by the Irish Hospice Foundation. In 2011 it launched the e-learning training course ‘Lost for Words’, which was aimed at the general public.
Both courses are available on the Irish Hospice Foundation’s e-learning bereavement support training website.
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