FSE 130 Funeral Service Sociology and Psychology

4 credits

This course is a survey of the basic principles of sociology relate to Funeral Service. The items stressed are: family structures, social structures, and other factors as it relates to funeral practices and to understand how the basic principles of psychology and counseling related to Funeral Service. Items stressed are: grief, bereavement, mourning, aftercare and crisis intervention as it relates to a funeral director.

Prerequisites: BIOL& 175, BUS& 201, ENGL& 101, and MATH& 107

Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Define sociology and its relationship to funeral service practices
Identify the cultural requirements and diversities of the deceased’s family
Connect elements associated with social function and culture to their funeral service applications
Identify the family governing systems found in contemporary society
Classify contemporary social factors affecting funeral rites
Describe changing social factors (traditional vs. non-traditional) 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 the typical grief reactions and responses
Describe the theories of grief
Describe issues relating to children and death
Explain how grief affects the family
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 personal resources for coping with loss and stress
Recognize when to make referrals to the appropriate community or professional resources

Program Outcomes
This course teaches to the following program outcome:

use appropriate terminology to facilitate communication with members of allied professions, the public, and the funeral service industry

Global Outcomes
This course teaches to the global outcome of communication.

Total Hours: 40 Lecture Hours: 40