Bereavement Professional

  • 1.  Individual Counseling and Grief Group Models

    Posted 08-25-2020 09:49 AM
    If any of you have a chance for a reflective moment in your busy days, I am now curious about current practice models  for both Individual Counseling and Grief Groups. 

    I recognize that large hospices with bereavement centers may employ licensed therapists and provide longer-term paid counseling.  I work in a small hospice, where we currently offer free short-term counseling and assist with referrals for longer term counseling.  I am curious about how both of these models are working for people--as well as models I have not considered. 

    Fro example, how many sessions do you typically offer to your bereaved clients, and what is the rationale behind that choice?  What is a typical client load at your hospice?

    Likewise, I am curious about the ratio of groups offered, to staffing.  How many groups are typically running in your practice, and what are your staffing levels?

    In both cases, what do you like about what you are doing, and what would you like to change?

    I'm hoping that this information will give me some context for our current practices and illuminate potential avenues for improvement.

    Thanks,
    Annie

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    Annie Hall
    Chaplain
    Hospice of St. Mary's
    Maryland
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  • 2.  RE: Individual Counseling and Grief Group Models

    Posted 08-26-2020 03:34 PM
    HI Annie
    Good questions. Like many other hospices, we do not provide grief psychotherapy and instead grief support and education. If there is a need for longer term therapy then we refer to vetted grief therapists in the community. In terms of number of sessions- this is completely driven by ongoing assessment and plan of care. I would caution about setting a standard number or even a limit? If these are your caregivers, the surveyors are going to want to see that your frequency of contacts and interventions established were based on grief assessment and POC.I hope that helps!




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    Robin Fiorelli LCSW
    Sr. Director of Bereavement and Volunteers
    VITAS
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Individual Counseling and Grief Group Models

    Posted 08-27-2020 02:17 PM
    Hi Annette, 

    We have a very large grief program at my hospice with licensed counelors.  Over the years, there have been changes to the way we provide services, like having a limited number of individual counseling to no limit.  I think there are issues with both--such as a client not receiving enough to the sessions moving more toward psychotherapy for other mental health issues.   I'm trying to figure out a solution that would be somewhere in the middle.  I'm thinking of having a range of sessions and after a certain amount (not sure what that would be) we would have a case consultation meeting with the licensees to discuss the plan of care. 

    We have a wide range of groups that adress different types of loss.  I'm also looking into adding workshops and other types of programming for instrumental grievers.  I have been looking at other programs and gathering/sharing ideas with other bereavement programs.  

    Best,
    Kathy
    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Individual Counseling and Grief Group Models

    Posted 08-31-2020 06:31 PM

    Sure!  We are happy to share about our model to help in your comparative exploration. We have an ADC of approx. 235 hospice and 200 palliative care, and have 3 grief counselors and one bereavement coordinator. We offer short term counseling, in approx. 6-8 sessions, for grief support and not for therapy. We typically run 4 drop in groups that meet twice a month, and usually have two closed, psychoeducational/curriculum based groups four or so times per year at the minimum.  This year has been different of course, and we are adapting our model around virtual options so we are not providing as many groups but hope to expand what we offer over the next few months and as needed according to our state and community needs and public health.  Hope this helps!

     

     

    Joelle Osterhaus, MSW, LCSW, LICSW, ACHP-SW (she/her)
    KPNW Hospice & Palliative Care Psychosocial Services Manager

    KPNW Interim Palliative Care Operations Manager

    NHPCO Bereavement Professional Committee Chair and MyNHPCO Executive Committee Member

    Kaiser Permanente Northwest
    Continuing Care Services
    2701 NW Vaughn St., Ste. 140
    Portland, OR 97210-5344

    Cell Phone: (503) 312-0819
    Main Office: (503) 499-5200 or (800)448-0838

    Fax: (503) 499-5535

    Upcoming PTO: Monday September 7th – Friday September 11th 2020

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    Original Message


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