When a student dies: Loss and grief within a counselor education program

Abstract

This reflective presentation focuses on the terminal illness and deaths of three mature students in 20 years within a postgraduate counselor education program in New Zealand. The presenter tells the story of each from her perspective as a counselor educator, describing the processes and exploring the implications for the students and staff, as well as her personal experiences of grief in the loss of these students. When death occurs in professional contexts personal grief may be silenced and disenfranchised. The meaning that professional relationships may hold needs to be recognized in honoring grief in the wake of such loss.