FSE 130 Funeral Service Sociology and Psychology

• Define critical sociology terms and how sociology is applied to funeral service practices
• Identify the cultural requirements of each individual decedent and their family
• Connect elements associated with social function and culture to their funeral service applications.
• Identify the family governing systems found in contemporary society and explain the implications for funeral service
• Classify and describe changing social factors which affect funeral rites and families that are served by funeral practitioners
• Identify the role of the deceased in the family structure and the effect of that death on the funeral rite
• Identify how technology affects funeral service sociology
• Recognize the application of general psychology to funeral service
• Describe the values and purposes of the funeral rite for the family and friends
• Recognize all types of grief reactions and responses
• Describe the theories of grief
• Describe issues relating to children and death
• Explain how grief affects families
• Differentiate between the types and styles of counseling therapy
• Recognize the major goals of counseling as well as the functions of the counselor
• Utilize basic counseling skills and techniques
• Recognize pre-need, at-need, and post-funeral counseling opportunities
• Recognize and understand how loss and stress affect the funeral practitioner
• Develop strategies for self-care of the funeral practitioner
• Recognize when and demonstrate how to make referrals to appropriate community or professional resources

• Explain the importance of funeral service professionals in developing relationships with the families and communities they serve
• Demonstrate skills required for conducting arrangement conferences, visitations, services, and ceremonies
• Describe methods to address the grief-related needs of the bereaved