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Bill Rainbolt is a professor of journalism and a student of grief.

Professionally, Dr. Rainbolt is on the faculty at the State University of New York at Albany. 

Personally, he is a student enrolled in the Bereavement Studies program at Maria College in Albany. He will complete the program later this spring, earning a certificate in Bereavement Studies.

Dr. Rainbolt said some people are surprised to learn about his studies. He said they assume the coursework is grim and talk of dying is depressing. Those assumptions are wrong, he said.

Life-affirming
"It's not about death," Dr. Rainbolt said. "It's about living, spirituality, and values. It's about the substance of what life is. It is an amazing program. It's life changing and life-affirming. It's been the right thing for me."

Sister Jean Roche, RSM, is the coordinator of the Bereavement Studies program. She said the program is designed to educate people in the complex process of dying, to guide in coping with grief and loss, and to empower by teaching spiritual practices conducive to healing and well-being of body, soul, and spirit.

Sister Jean said that, while many healthcare professionals have completed the Bereavement Studies program, the program is open to anyone.

"It has been said that Americans are disenfranchised grievers, failing to tend to the wounds of the soul," she said. "Instead, they find refuge in a myriad of distractions and ever-escalating busyness. [Bereavement studies] is countercultural, empowering students to heal themselves that they might be better healers."

Some participate in the program for professional reasons, Sister Jean said; for example, there have been doctors and nurses who want to be better able to assist people as they are dying. 

Help in grief
"Our graduates have done great things in our community and beyond," Sister Jean said. "Three are employed by funeral homes and meet with families at the time of death and months thereafter offering education, counseling, support groups and a social structure."

Other students, Sister Jean said, are like Dr. Rainbolt, who take the courses for personal enrichment.

Linda Collett, a parishioner of St. James Church in Chatham, completed the program in December. She recently retired after 37 years as a teacher and school administrator. Ms. Collett is a Hospice volunteer and hoped the course studies would assist her with her volunteer work.

After completing the program, she realized the need for teachers to receive training in grief. Currently she is developing a training program for educators.

"As teachers, we are in classrooms with students who are experiencing a range of situations from illness to death," Ms. Collett said. "There is nothing to prepare teachers to handle this."

Grieving perfection
Part of her career was spent administering a special education program. She said that parents of children receiving special education services may be grieving. 

"Growing up, we all think that our children will be perfect," she explained. "When a child has a disability, parents feel loss and grief."

Ms. Collett said the course on disenfranchised grief addressed the loss that parents of a child with a disability face. That focuses on losses that might not be recognized or validated by society.

Sister Jean noted that some of these losses could be the death of marriage, the dissolution of a friendship, the death of a pet, or the loss of faith.

Ms. Collett encouraged people to consider taking a course in bereavement for personal growth. 

"These are courses that can enrich your life," she said, "regardless of your background and regardless of what you are going to do after your studies."

Ms. Collett also noted that a person can start with one course: "If you see a course that's interesting, take it. You don't have to get the certificate."

She personally found the program uplifting. "There was a lot of laughter," she said. "The courses were a celebration."

Dr. Rainbolt agreed. He said he plans on retiring in the next couple of years, and would like to volunteer in pastoral care.

"This has been another step of inner growth," he said. "This is what I need to be doing."

(To learn more about the Bereavement Studies program, go to www.mariacollege.edu or call 438-3111, ext. 233.)[[In-content Ad]]

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