Preparing social workers for the inevitable: A preliminary investigation of a course on grief, death, and loss

Despite the centrality of grief as a universal response to loss, and its prevalence in the social work domain, little empirical attention has been given to the impact of grief instruction in social work courses. This article presents results of a study examining the impact of a multimethod grief course on graduate social work students' level of death acceptance and sense of preparedness to respond to personal and professional losses. A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design was used. Findings suggest that the grief course assisted students to perceive greater competence in their knowledge, skills, and sense of preparation for working with grieving clients, and that the course increased cognitive and affective dimensions of death acceptance in students. Implications for future research and for social work education are discussed in light of the study limitations.