Bereavement Support Core Competencies

About this Course

This course provides introductory-level knowledge and skills (i.e., competencies) required for professionals and volunteers offering support at Level 2 of the Adult Bereavement Care Pyramid

Service providers at Level 2 offer emotional and/or practical support to individuals who have experienced bereavement. This support is typically provided by bereavement support volunteers or as part of a professional’s role.

What knowledge and skills should bereavement care providers have?

The Adult Bereavement Care Pyramid, a national framework for bereavement care in Ireland, suggests that

• ALL people who experience a bereavement have some level of need such as the need for compassion and acknowledgement of the death (Level 1).
• SOME need additional support which is outside their natural network, such as peer-to-peer support (LeveL 2).
• SOME require more intensive support, such as counselling (LeveL 3) and a
• FEW require support from a specialist therapeutic service (LeveL 4).

The Bereavement Care Pyramid also outlines the supports/services appropriate for addressing each level of need. For example, a bereavement support group (i.e. a Level 2 support/service) would meet the need of someone who would like to meet with others who have experienced a similar loss.

The Bereavement Care Pyramid indicates that there are knowledge and skills (i.e., competencies) that service providers at each level should possess. For example, service providers at Level 2 should have formal knowledge about the grieving process.

Each level of competence builds upon the levels below it. For example, practitioners at Levels 3 and 4 should have the knowledge and skills (i.e. competence) expected at Level 2.

You can read more information about the Adult Bereavement Care Pyramid in our Resource Section.

What knowledge and skills should LEVEL 2 bereavement care providers have?

This eLearning programme is designed to align with the knowledge and skills required of Level 2 service providers, as outlined in the Bereavement Support Core Competency Framework. These competencies are considered core because they represent the minimum set of knowledge and skills that all service providers at this level should have.

You can read more information about the Competency Framework in our Resource Section.

Additional competencies are required for those who work with groups or people with bereavement specific bereavement needs, such as bereaved children, those bereaved by suicide, those bereaved by homicide etc.

This eLearning course will provide the learner with the first step towards meeting the competencies outlined at Level 2 in the Competency Framework. It is important to note that learners will need to engage in further learning and training within their organisation in order to be ready to support bereaved people in their services.

Project Oversight

This course was developed by Irish Hospice Foundation in collaboration with the Bereavement Training Network, a group of bereavement organisations providing bereavement support at Level 2 across Ireland. An advisory group provided strategic oversight and guidance throughout the project.

Members of the Bereavement Training Network include: A Little Lifetime Foundation, Anam Cara, Barnardos Childrens Bereavement Service, Bethany Bereavement Support, CRY Ireland, Childrens Grief Centre, Embrace FARM, Cancer Support Centres (HOPE Cancer Support Centre), Hospice and Palliative Care Social Workers Group (St Francis Hospice Dublin), HUGG (Healing Untold Grief Groups), Irish Childhood Bereavement Network, Irish Hospice Foundation, Kilkenny Bereavement Support, LMC Bereavement, Pieta, Rainbows Ireland, Support After Homicide, Turas Le Cheile.

An advisory group provided strategic oversight and guidance throughout the project. Members of the Project Advisory Group include: Alliance of Age Sector NGO’s (ALONE ), Aware, Hospice and palliative care social work group (St Francis Hospice, Dublin), HSE National Cancer Control Programme, HSE National Counselling Service, HSE National Palliative Care Programme, Irish Childhood Bereavement Network, Irish Association of Social Work, Irish Cancer Society, Irish Hospice Foundation, National Forum of Family Resource Centres, National Office for Suicide Prevention, University College Cork.

These resources will provide you with the essential tools and information to enhance your learning experience on our eLearning platform.

Project Funding

This project was funded by The Wheel’s Training Links Programme and Irish Hospice Foundation.

Members of the Bereavement Training Network

Course Content

The course includes six modules delivered over ten short interactive sessions. Each session is designed to take approximately 20 minutes to complete. See the list of the sessions below.

We recommend that you do not complete all ten modules in one sitting but spread the sessions out over a number of sittings.

You can access the programme Resources through the link on the last page of each module. These resources will provide you with the tools and information to enhance your learning experience of this programme. The resources are in a downloadable PDF format so you can save them to access at a later time.