Bereavement counselor vs grief counselor

The differences between bereavement counselors and grief counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a bereavement counselor has an average salary of $64,298, which is higher than the $39,859 average annual salary of a grief counselor.

The top three skills for a bereavement counselor include social work, patients and mental health. The most important skills for a grief counselor are patients, MSW, and community outreach.

Bereavement counselor vs grief counselor overview

	Bereavement Counselor	Grief Counselor
Yearly salary	$64,298	$39,859
Hourly rate	$30.91	$19.16
Growth rate	4%	-
Number of jobs	29,323	27,537
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	-

Bereavement counselor vs grief counselor salary

Bereavement counselors and grief counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bereavement Counselor	Grief Counselor
Average salary	$64,298	$39,859
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $79,000	Between $32,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between bereavement counselor and grief counselor education

There are a few differences between a bereavement counselor and a grief counselor in terms of educational background:

	Bereavement Counselor	Grief Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Bereavement counselor vs grief counselor demographics

Here are the differences between bereavement counselors' and grief counselors' demographics:

	Bereavement Counselor	Grief Counselor
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	15%	9%

Differences between bereavement counselor and grief counselor duties and responsibilities

Bereavement counselor example responsibilities.

Manage a caseload of individuals in programs design to provide vocational rehabilitation and other services to the developmentally disable.
Provide individual/family/group counseling and psycho-educational programs for a diverse population of hospice patients, families and couples.
Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals to provide counseling support for terminally ill patients and their families.
Provide individual assessments, treatment planning and psychotherapy services to culturally diverse adult female population in need of rehabilitation services.
Collaborate with peers in leadership capacity at recreational summer camp leading, coordinating and organizing daily activities and weekly field trips.

Grief counselor example responsibilities.

Provide individual grief counseling to hospice and non-hospice community patients in bereavement.
Provide anticipatory grief and bereavement counseling support to family members of hospice patients.
Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Organize and lead regular youth and college bible studies, teaching about prayer and promoting spirituality.

Bereavement counselor vs grief counselor skills

Common bereavement counselor skills

Social Work, 34%
Patients, 24%
Mental Health, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
Medicare, 3%
Bereavement Services, 3%

Common grief counselor skills

Patients, 19%
MSW, 18%
Community Outreach, 11%
Emotional Support, 10%
Educational Workshops, 10%
Ministry, 7%

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Community and Social Services Industry
Bereavement Counselor
Bereavement Counselor vs Grief Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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