Badge Overview

Certificate in Thanatology  Certificate in Thanatology

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Certificate in Thanatology

Certificate in Thanatology

Issued by Hood College

Badge Description

Offered through the Ruth Whitaker Holmes School of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Hood College, the Certificate in Thanatology badge is awarded to learners that earn all of the Skill Accelerator badges listed in the criteria.This 12-credit graduate certificate provides specialized training in the study of death, dying, grief, and bereavement across the lifespan. Designed for both emerging and experienced professionals, the program combines theory, research, and applied skills that prepare graduates to work with the terminally ill, the bereaved, and those seeking death education. Coursework conforms to the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) benchmarks and can support eligibility for professional certification. Learners explore the physical, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual dimensions of death in a compassionate, flexible, and academically rigorous environment. Badge earners are prepared to offer expert guidance, emotional support, and spiritual understanding during life’s most challenging transitions.

Skills Thanatology Grief Counseling Interventions Client Assessment Bereavement Care End of Life Care Grief Theory Empathetic Communication Critical Analysis Interpersonal Awareness Cultural Competency Assessment Skills Theoretical Application Religious Literacy Multicultural Communication Cross-Culture Competency Historical Analysis Death System Death Perspectives Death and Dying Bereavement End-of-Life Issues End-of-Life Decisions

Badge Criteria

Developmental Perspectives in Thanatology

Earned the **Developmental Perspectives in Thanatology** badge. The Developmental Perspectives in Thanatology badge provides an overview of major themes and attitudes of death, dying and bereavement. It is a comprehensive survey that views death as a universal event and provides knowledge of major theories, process models, death systems, end-of-life issues, dying trajectories and awareness contexts, as well as the roles of healthcare and hospice in the dying process.

Grief, Mourning and Bereavement

Earned the **Grief, Mourning and Bereavement** badge. The Grief, Mourning and Bereavement badge an in-depth study of grief, mourning and bereavement. Time is spent exploring how the individual grief experience can be affected by a multitude of factors, including relationship to the deceased, cause of death and identity of the bereaved. The differentiation between normal grief and complicated grief is studied, as well as the different theories of mourning and healing.

Historical and Multicultural Perspectives in Thanatology

Earned the **Historical and Multicultural Perspectives in Thanatology** badge. The Historical and Multicultural Perspectives in Thanatology badge focuses on the role of death in Western history, noting how concepts of dying, death and bereavement have changed over the centuries. Specific topics include an overview of Ariès’ work on the history of Western attitudes toward death; a discussion of Egypt and its death-centered culture and society; and an examination of the Civil War and its role on how death is viewed in the United States. The badge also explores dying, death and bereavement as experienced in various cultures, ethnic groups and religions around the world. Groups studied include but are not limited to Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, among others. Group similarities and differences are highlighted, including religious traditions surrounding death, cross-cultural mourning practices, funeral practices, corpse disposal and diverse philosophies of the role of death in the meaning of life.

Principles of Thanatology

Earned the **Principles of Thanatology** badge. The Principles in Thanatology badge provides an overview of major themes and attitudes of death and grief included in theories, process models, death trajectories and death systems. It explores roles of palliative care and hospice in the dying process to understand the experience of an “appropriate death.”

Aligned Outcomes