Clinical Topics & Methods Category

The Grieving Child: A Parent's Guide

5 CE Hours
39 members have taken this course

This course has been retired. We regularly update our course catalog to ensure relevance.

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About the Course

The book upon which this course is based, written by the director of a grief program in a community health center, is intended as a guide for parents seeking to explain the death of a parent, relative, friend, or even a pet to a child. The book's format employs a paragraph numbering system, which allows readers to turn to relevant information easily. All subjects are listed in the table of contents and index. Suggestions are given for dealing with emotional responses and helping in the child's adjustment to a new life. Fitzgerald believes in using a clear, direct approach when explaining death to a child, yet her tone is gentle and loving. Recommended for most parenting collections, as well as for professionals who work with grieving children.

This course is based on the book, The Grieving Child: A Parent's Guide created by Fitzgerald, Helen

Publication Details

Journal/Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 1992

Course Material Author

Fitzgerald, Helen

Helen Fitzgerald is an author and lecturer certified in thanatology by the Association for Death Education and Counseling. For twenty-three years she was the coordinator of the Grief Program for Mental Health Services in Fairfax County, Virginia, where she conducted many groups for adults, as well as for grieving children ranging from preschool age through the high school years. In July 2000 she retired from that position and she is now the director of training for the American Hospice Foundation. Her books include The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen.

Fitzgerald, Helen authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Course Creator

Target Audience

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially psychologists, counselors, social workers, and nurses who seek knowledge about childhood grief processes and ways to assist parents with their child's grief experience. It is appropriate for all levels of participants' knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Describe how parents can introduce their children to the concept of death and how children tend to react to death.
  2. 2 Identify ways to prepare children for the reality of death and how parents can deal with their children's emotional responses.
  3. 3 Assess information presented regarding adjustments after a death and ways to help children work through their grief.
  4. 4 Apply concepts presented regarding unresolved childhood grief in adults in bereavement work with clients/patients.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Material Authors

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Course Creator

Keith Gibson, Ph.D. – There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (FL CSW, MFT, MHC)

5 CE credit hours
Eligible until Mar 27th, 2027
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (Provider # 50-315).
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Florida Board of Psychology

5 CE credit hours
Eligible until Mar 31st, 2031
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Board of Psychology (Provider # 50-315).
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$45

Course Details

5 CE Hours
Book
Course 101295

Profession Group

  • Behavioral Health

Availability

This course is retired. It is no longer available.

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