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Bereavement counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Treniece Lewis Harris Ph.D.,
Treniece Lewis Harris Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical bereavement counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for bereavement counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 34.2% of bereavement counselor resumes contained social work as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a bereavement counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 bereavement counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Social Work

Here's how bereavement counselors use social work:
  • Collaborated with team social workers in providing anticipatory grief support.
  • Participated in interdisciplinary team meetings to ensure client's needs were being addressed from the social work perspective.

2. Patients

Here's how bereavement counselors use patients:
  • Collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals to provide counseling support for terminally ill patients and their families.
  • Provided individual/family/group counseling and psycho-educational programs for a diverse population of hospice patients, families and couples.

3. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how bereavement counselors use mental health:
  • Completed two-year internship to become Licensed Mental Health Counselor.
  • Performed diagnostic evaluation and conducted mental health assessments.

4. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how bereavement counselors use community resources:
  • Identified support systems available to reduce stress and facilitate coping; identified community resources and assisted with utilization.
  • Conducted assessments and developed individualized treatment plans and discharge planning; prepared thorough documentation and established communication with other community resources.

5. Medicare

Medicare is a federal government insurance program that offers health care coverage to people who are 65 and above. In some cases, younger people with disabilities whose status is identified by the SSA can also avail the insurance program. Medicare covers the health expenses of people who are not able to afford it plus it protects the payee from rising health care costs.

Here's how bereavement counselors use medicare:
  • Provided referrals and assisted with Medicaid and Medicare issues.
  • Trained Administrative Assistant and Community Liaison Computed figures for end of year Medicare survey

6. Bereavement Services

Here's how bereavement counselors use bereavement services:
  • Extended telephone outreach to hospice families referred for bereavement services.
  • Collaborated with hospice and bereavement team to provide general bereavement services via groups, workshops, and community outreach.

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7. Family Therapy

Here's how bereavement counselors use family therapy:
  • Direct provision of individual, group, and family therapy with children and adults.
  • Performed individual and family therapy for both pre and post bereaved through telemedicine and in person sessions.

8. Spiritual Care

Spiritual care is a facet of healthcare that deals with the spiritual and religious needs caused by an injury or illness.

Here's how bereavement counselors use spiritual care:
  • Assisted the Interdisciplinary Team in identifying patient/family units appropriate for spiritual care services.
  • Develop and deliver staff and volunteer training programs on spiritual care, bereavement and grief, self-care, boundaries, more.

9. Loss Issues

Here's how bereavement counselors use loss issues:
  • Provide education and training for hospice staff related to grief and loss issues.
  • Provide community consultant services regarding grief and loss issues.

10. Emotional Support

At its core, emotional support involves providing support, reassurance, acceptance, love, and encouragement. It is especially important in a time of stress/sadness as it stabilizes an individual and provides a positive foundation for trust. Honing this skill is important for individuals who want to pursue the career of caregivers and emotional support nurses. Their job includes monitoring mental health and helping patients to handle any mental challenge.

Here's how bereavement counselors use emotional support:
  • Provide comfort and emotional support to clients dealing with grief or terminal illness of a family member or friend.
  • Provided emotional support for those in a variety of grief stricken situations

11. Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision refers to how practicing nurses get professional and moral support from their experienced colleagues. The practice aims to promote their ability to make a concrete decision that values the patient's well-being.

Here's how bereavement counselors use clinical supervision:
  • Provided clinical supervision to MSW student interns and LSW staff.
  • Performed Utilization Reviews/Quality Assurance, reviewed clinical files, conducted case management meetings, monitored counselor proficiency and provided clinical supervision.

12. Community Organizations

Community organizations refers to a form of social or volunteer work that focuses on bettering a community. This may be a community defined by geographic boundaries or by a person's racial or sexual identity. These organizations are often nonprofits that help groups of people affected by natural disasters or hate crimes.

Here's how bereavement counselors use community organizations:
  • Provided emergency crisis intervention, debriefing and trauma counseling to schools and community organizations.
  • Presented educational training's to hospice professionals, community organizations and agencies, and counseling professionals.

13. Memorial Services

Here's how bereavement counselors use memorial services:
  • Conducted Celebration of Life Services as well as funerals/memorial services.
  • Planned and facilitated individual and group memorial services.

14. Group Therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is the practice of treating a group of clients together in one sitting throughout multiple sessions. This practice allows people to receive encouragement and support from their peers who are taking the same group therapy.

Here's how bereavement counselors use group therapy:
  • Worked with individuals of all ages, their families, as well as group therapy.
  • Provide group therapy for students who have experienced a loss in school-based setting.

15. Community Outreach

Here's how bereavement counselors use community outreach:
  • Participated in community outreach for children dealing with grief.
  • Provided individual crisis counseling, community outreach, public education and referral services to hurricane Wilma survivors in Martin County.
top-skills

What skills help Bereavement Counselors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on bereavement counselor resumes?

Treniece Lewis Harris Ph.D.

Associate Professor of the Practice, Program Director, Master's Program in Mental Health Counseling, Boston College

The skills that likely stand out the most on psychologists' resumes include empathy, critical thinking, knowledge of mental health and illness determinants, psychological assessment, evidence-based psychotherapy skills, and research design and implementation.

What soft skills should all bereavement counselors possess?

Treniece Lewis Harris Ph.D.

Associate Professor of the Practice, Program Director, Master's Program in Mental Health Counseling, Boston College

-compassion

-active listening

-perspective-taking

-open-mindedness and respect for differences

-humility

-curiosity and critical observation

-problem recognition and analytical thinking

-creativity and flexibility

-presentation skills

What hard/technical skills are most important for bereavement counselors?

Treniece Lewis Harris Ph.D.

Associate Professor of the Practice, Program Director, Master's Program in Mental Health Counseling, Boston College

-Differential diagnosis to determine whether a person is experiencing an adjustment problem related to everyday life stressors or mental illness
-Knowledge and application of developmental and personality theory to human behavior.
-Experience in using multiple evidence-based psychotherapy models
-Psychological assessment, especially in neuropsychological testing
-Research design and implementation to study
-Program development
-Curriculum design and teaching skills

What bereavement counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Samantha Bates PhD, LISW-SSamantha Bates PhD, LISW-S LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, LiFEsports Director of Research, Ohio State University

One of the best things about being a mental health practitioner is supporting someone during a time of immense need. The human spirit is beautiful to witness, and the role of a mental health provider is to use the vulnerability and time spent together to empower someone to see their strengths, utilize new skills, and decide what the future holds for them. I think the best day of my professional career was when a young woman told me that had I not been in her life at the time she might not be here today. Knowing you were a support for someone, and the time you spent together made an impact, is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. One thing that is challenging in the mental health profession is the lack of coordinated services and supports. Access and equity continue to challenge the profession and are issues we must address to tackle the mental health crisis.

What type of skills will young bereavement counselors need?

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about bereavement counselor

List of bereavement counselor skills to add to your resume

Bereavement counselor skills

The most important skills for a bereavement counselor resume and required skills for a bereavement counselor to have include:

  • Social Work
  • Patients
  • Mental Health
  • Community Resources
  • Medicare
  • Bereavement Services
  • Family Therapy
  • Spiritual Care
  • Loss Issues
  • Emotional Support
  • Clinical Supervision
  • Community Organizations
  • Memorial Services
  • Group Therapy
  • Community Outreach
  • Public Speaking
  • IDG
  • Program Development
  • Terminal Illness
  • Community Agencies
  • Crisis Intervention
  • IDT
  • Art Therapy
  • Spiritual Support
  • Pastoral Care
  • Suicide Prevention
  • Anticipatory Grief
  • Support Services
  • Community Programs
  • Community Education
  • Children Ages
  • HIPAA
  • Direct Care
  • Clinical Documentation
  • Therapeutic Relationships
  • Community Events
  • Educational Programs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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