Death education: enhancing competence across the life span

Life is full of major and minor events analogous to dying and death that few people realize exist. Throughout life there are a variety of loss situations (e.g., death of a pet, divorce, loss of a job, retirement, death of a friend or relative, etc.) that help to prepare individuals for their own death. If death educators can enhance the life skills necessary to cope with these life events, then perhaps, the individual will be better able to cope with their own death and the death of a significant other. This paper will present an overview of the basic tenets of life span intervention, provide a discussion of life skills directly related to dying and death, and suggest key points of positive intervention.