Loss & Bereavement - Clinical Practice

RCSI, in association with the Irish Hospice Foundation, runs two accredited Level 9 MSc programmes focusing on loss and bereavement: MSc in Loss & Bereavement and MSc in Loss & Bereavement (Clinical Practice).

Both programmes are rooted in contemporary scientific research and designed against a policy and professional regulation backdrop.

Applications for the MSc Loss & Bereavement (Clinical Practice) are invited from qualified, accredited psychotherapists and counsellors whose clinical work involves therapeutic support of bereaved people.

Module Format Induction day Classroom
M1: Loss, grief and bereavement models through the lifespan
Online
M1: Loss, grief and bereavement models through the lifespan
Classroom
M1: Loss, grief and bereavement models through the lifespan
Classroom
M2: Counselling in loss and bereavement
Online
M2: Counselling in loss and bereavement
Classroom
M2: Counselling in loss and bereavement
Classroom
M3(a): Applied bereavement practice (clinical practice group) Online
M3(b): Organisational staff support (general group)
Online
M3(a): Applied bereavement practice (clinical practice group) Classroom
M3(b): Organisational staff support (general group) Classroom
M1: Loss, grief and bereavement models through the lifespan / M2: Counselling in loss and bereavement Classroom
M5: Research appraisal Online
Integration day and RCSI Library Classroom
M3(a): Applied bereavement practice (clinical practice group) Classroom
M3(b): Organisational staff support (general group) Classroom
M6(a): Advanced counselling and practitioner self Online
M6(b): Range of loss and finite loss Online
M6(a): Advanced counselling and practitioner self (clinical practice group) Classroom
M6(b): Range of loss and finite loss (general group) Classroom
M5: Research and integration day Classroom
M4: Loss, death and bereavement in society Online
M4: Loss, death and bereavement in society Classroom
M4: Loss, death and bereavement in society
Classroom
M7: Policy and management in bereavement care Online
M7: Policy and management in bereavement care
Classroom
M7: Policy and management in bereavement care Classroom
M7: Policy and management in bereavement care Classroom
Integration day Classroom

Credits

Module Title Credits
1 Loss, grief and bereavement models through the lifespan 10
2 Counselling in loss and bereavement 10
3a Applied bereavement practice: preparing the self to work with loss 10
4 Loss, death and bereavement in society 10
5 Research appraisal 5
6a Advanced counselling and practitioner self
5
7 Policy and management in bereavement care 10

Year 2

In Year 2, you will complete a dissertation. Classes are held in two-day blocks once a month (Mondays and Tuesdays) and run from September to May.

Module Title Credits
8 Dissertation 30
Please contact Antoinette Stanbridge if you have specific queries about the course content.

To apply for this programme you must hold current accreditation/membership through a national body overseeing counselling/psychotherapy/psychology or other relevant clinical practice, and a relevant Level 8 degree (or equivalent as demonstrated through Recognition of Prior Learning [RPL]). RPL involves demonstration of formal training in counselling/psychotherapy; significant professional experience, including client caseload, in loss/bereavement related work; clinical supervision and evidence of personal insight into loss and bereavement.

An academic transcript will be requested when a place is offered. An academic transcript lists your complete academic history – programmes attended, a breakdown of marks/grades achieved, the degree awarded, your overall grade and conferring date.

International degrees’ equivalency are to be verified Opens in new windowusing this service.

If you are a prospective students applying for the MSc Loss & Bereavement (Counselling) for whom English is not your native language you may need to arrange a test to confirm proficiency in English. More details are available here.

Please note: Ensure you are applying for the correct stream within the MSc Loss & Bereavement programmes. If you are uncertain, please read the MSc Loss & Bereavement brochure or contact Jennifer Leech, Education Administrator at the Irish Hospice Foundation.

2 years part-time.

Year 1

Classes for Year 1 are held online on one Saturday, with a two-day block of lectures in the classroom the following week. The programme will run from 9.15am to 5:30pm, September to May.

Please note: These dates are approximate and are subject to change.

Participants on this programme come from a range of professions and sectors across Ireland and the UK.

We aim to work with you to develop a new and informed approach to how bereavement care is provided in the settings in which you work.