Thanatological competence in the psychological education in Russia and abroad

Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

^* Corresponding author: misspolls@gmail.com

Abstract

The article is devoted to the thanatological formation peculiarities of competence in the education of psychologists in Russia and abroad. The article describes the socio-cultural, professional and individual-psychological relevance of thanatological competence in the implementation of the practical and pedagogical activities of a psychologist. The novelty of the research lies in the substantiation of the need to form thanatological competence as mastering thanatological knowledge for making professional decisions. The article describes the history of the development of “death education” abroad and in Russia, originating in the hospice movement. The article provides a brief description of the didactic and experiential approach to the implementation of programs and courses on the formation of thanatological competence for students in the United States. At the same time, in Russia such courses exist in several higher educational institutions, in others they are presented within the framework of single lectures included in the cycles of basic disciplines. The article contains information about studies demonstrating the need for the formation of thanatological competence in students and the success of the implementation of programs aimed at this abroad. In the conclusion of the article, the prospects for the implementation of programs aimed at the thanatological competence formation for practicing students are described.