Section 5

RESEARCH ESSAY QUESTIONS

Instructions:

The questions in this section of the Assessment Book are research essay questions. Study at the Graduate Diploma level requires students to be able to engage in independent research and learning. These skills are also vital to the continuous professional development of all counsellors. To respond to these questions you are required to reflect upon everything you have learned in the Study Guide and Book of Readings for this unit as well as conduct your own research (e.g., read counselling textbooks, counselling journals, information on reputable websites, etc.) to expand your knowledge. You are then required to write a clear response to each of these questions. When writing your essays you must use in-text referencing and provide a reference list for each. Please use APA style for referencing.

While you should submit your essays and reference lists in each of the appropriate fields below, it is best practice to write each of your essays in a separate word document and then, once they are finalised, copy and paste them into the fields before submitting your assessment book. By doing this you can make use of various spelling and grammar checks and ensure that your essay is fully proof-read and appropriately formatted. Please leave a blank line between paragraphs to help make your essay easier to read.

For each essay you will be assessed on:The content on your essay (i.e., whether or not you have answered the question(s) being asked and have demonstrated a clear understanding of the topic area).

• Supporting evidence (i.e., whether or not you have supported your response with credible research)
• The formal aspects of writing (i.e., whether or not your essay is clear, coherent, and grammatically correct).

Remember, if you are ever unsure about what is required from you in relation to any of your assessment questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Study Assistance Line and speak to one of our Education Advisors.

Questions:

1. 1. Counsellors need to be prepared to work with diverse clients, including those with ways of thinking about, understanding, and responding to loss that differ from the counsellor’s own. You are to select a culture that is different to your own and conduct independent research into:
      • The ways in which loss and grief are understood in this culture. (Most research into grief and grief counselling relates to bereavement, so if you would like to do so, you may focus solely on this type of loss for your essay; however, you may also choose to consider loss more broadly.)
      • Cultural practices in responses to loss and grief.
      • Considerations for providing counselling with clients who identify with this culture. These may relate to, for example, culturally responsive practice; how or whether psychoeducation can occur in a client-centred and culturally appropriate manner; how the appropriateness of interventions can be assessed; how to proceed when beliefs/practices differ from those the counsellor is comfortable with; and so on.)

Note: For the purposes of this assessment, a culture is defined as a group with a shared system of beliefs and practices.

In your essay, you must:

1. Identify the culture and briefly outline their beliefs and practices relating to loss and grief.
2. Discuss the ways in which this aspect of a client’s unique context may impact on their experience of grief and loss.
3. Present considerations for providing counselling to clients who identify with this culture.
4. Use five independent, credible sources in your essay, to demonstrate your research.