This mixed-method study advances knowledge regarding the practice of grief counseling in a sample of 171 university counseling center therapists. First, several components of therapists’ self-reported work with grieving clients was assessed (e.g., training level, initial responses to a grieving client, principles applied in counseling, therapist comfort, and potential therapist issues related to counseling grieving clients). Second, grounded in the death competence model (Gamino & Ritter, 2012), predictors of perceived grief counseling skills were examined. Cognitive competence and emotional competence predicted perceived grief counseling skills, with training/experience being the most robust predictor. Notably, the participants in this study rarely received education regarding death, dying, and grieving in their graduate programs, and they indicated that their knowledge about grief counseling was insufficient. Moreover, the therapists’ qualitative responses to a case vignette were lacking in many grief-specific domains. Future directions for training, research, and clinical work are discussed.

这项混合方法的研究在171名大学咨询中心治疗师的样本中提高了关于悲伤咨询实践的知识。首先，评估了治疗师自我报告的与悲伤客户的几个组成部分（例如，培训水平，对悲伤客户的初步反应，在咨询中应用的原则，治疗师的舒适度以及与为悲伤客户提供咨询有关的潜在治疗师问题）。其次，基于死亡能力模型（Gamino＆Ritter，2012），研究了悲伤咨询技能的预测因素。认知能力和情绪能力预测了悲伤的咨询技巧，而培训/经验是最有力的预测因子。值得注意的是，该研究的参与者很少在研究生课程中接受过有关死亡，垂死和悲伤的教育，他们表示，他们对悲伤咨询的知识不足。此外，在许多悲伤特定领域中，治疗师对病例插图的定性反应缺乏。讨论了培训，研究和临床工作的未来方向。