Grief Education in Accredited Counseling Programs: Tools for Integrating Grief Counseling Concepts into the CACREP Foundational Counseling Curriculum

Authors

Nicole A. Stargell, University of North Carolina at PembrokeFollow
Emily T. Smith, Walden UniversityFollow
Gary W. Mauk, The University of North Carolina at PembrokeFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Nicole A. Stargell: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6977-5360

Author Biographies

Nicole A. Stargell, PhD, LCMHC, LSC, NCC, BC-TMH is a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Her research interest include diagnosis and treatment and grief and loss.

Emily T. Smith, LCMHCS, LSC, NCC, CGP is a doctoral student at Walden University. Her research interests include grief and loss counseling and counselor education.

Gary W. Mauk, PhD, NCSP is a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His research interests include child and adolescent mental health issues, loss and grief, social-emotional learning, earlier identification of hearing loss and early intervention services, and learning disabilities among deaf and hard of hearing students.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc07znqf

Abstract

Counselors working in a wide variety of settings should be competent in providing grief counseling. The current CACREP (2024) standards include grief education under lifespan development, but grief education can be woven throughout all eight domains of the foundational counseling curriculum. This article explains the foundational grief counseling concepts of attachment theory, the dual process model of grief, meaning-making theory, and adaptive grieving styles. Included in this article are suggestions for infusing these foundational grief counseling concepts into each of the eight CACREP foundational counseling curriculum areas.

Public Significance Statement

The information in this article can help counselor educators incorporate evidence-based grief and loss training across the foundational CACREP curriculum. All people are affected by grief and loss, and competent grief counseling is an important aspect of the work professional counselors provide to the community. Grief and loss education and training will allow new counselors to have increased confidence and ability to provide high-quality grief counseling interventions.

Recommended Citation

Stargell, Nicole A.; Smith, Emily T.; and Mauk, Gary W. (2025) "Grief Education in Accredited Counseling Programs: Tools for Integrating Grief Counseling Concepts into the CACREP Foundational Counseling Curriculum," Teaching and Supervision in Counseling: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 4.
https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc07znqf
Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/tsc/vol7/iss1/4