ENDLIFE Death studies & the end of life for the intervention of support and the accompanying

The First-level Short Specialisation Degree in Death Studies & The end of Life for the intervention of support and the accompanying offers the conceptual references to access aspects relating to:

• cultural and historical evolution of the concept of death;
• grief and psychological loss and processing aspects;
• death education as educational and prevention strategy;
• understanding of death-related symbols and representations in the life cycle and in the different cultural contexts;
• bioethics and biolaw elements, thanatological counselling and psychological and/or philosophical support;
• relationship between thanatology and medical, psychological, philosophical, sociological, anthropological and historical sciences.
• take-over and end-of-life care.

The Master in Death studies & the end of life for the intervention of support and the accompanying provides useful tools to operate—according to one’s professional background—in areas such as palliative care services, community mutual aid and volunteer networks, as well as awareness-raising and support initiatives related to death, grief, and end-of-life issues.

Participants will acquire:

• an understanding of how traumatic and natural death are represented at both individual and social levels;
• the ability to design, implement, and evaluate educational pathways related to the processing and understanding of death;
• skills in managing helping relationships with dying individuals and their families, both individually and in groups;
• competence in leading multidisciplinary teams involving physicians, psychologists, nurses, trainers, educators, and social workers;
• the ability to identify social needs related to dying and bereavement within hospital wards, community services, private institutions, and the non-profit sector

The Master in Death studies & the end of life for the intervention of support and the accompanying integrates specialist disciplines from several key fields of knowledge: philosophical and religious studies, medical and nursing sciences, as well as psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives.

The topics addressed include:

• the meaning of death and dying;
• different forms of dying;
• death across cultures and contexts;
• grief and the psychological processes related to loss and its elaboration;
• death education across primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention;
• death within the life cycle;
• end-of-life management in relation to bioethical and biolaw issues;
• counselling and support for the dying and for those who accompany them;
• thanatology and the medical, psychological, philosophical, legal, and religious sciences.

Particular attention is given to participants’ personal reflection on their own views and attitudes toward death and the fear of dying, so that competencies related to individual and socio-cultural representations of death—in all their concrete and symbolic expressions—can be operationalised and applied to the design of interventions aimed at promoting life and its quality in situations of suffering and crisis.

Main topics covered:

• Death and the Earth;
• Psychology and philosophy: between eternity and mystery;
• Psychodrama for grief processing;
• Psychology of helping relationships;
• Psycho-oncology;
• Empathic skills and respectful listening in end-of-life care and grief;
• Cultural anthropology of thanatology;
• End-of-life care, palliative care, and psycho-oncology: intervention models and research;
• Narrative approaches and death education;
• Philosophy and the language of care;
• Bioethics and biolaw: reflection and practice;
• Life-span psychology and understanding death;
• Psychothanatology and death education;
• Death in philosophical and theological thought;
• Spirituality, transcendence, and meditation: traditional techniques for preparing for death;
• The metaphysics of death;
• Near-death and non-ordinary experiences – the mind–brain relationship;
• History of death, forms of dying, and funeral rituals;
• From suicide to traumatic grief: intervention and prevention strategies;
• Psychology of ageing.”

The schedule of classes for the 2026/2027 edition will be uploaded in this section as soon as possible.

The general ranking of merit for the academic year 2026/27 will be published on the Italian page of this Master according to the timing provided in the Call.