Dear Counselor-in-Training,

My name is Martha Jarmuz and I am a doctoral student in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at National Louis University.  I am currently working on my dissertation and welcome you to participate in my study, Youth Grief Counseling: An Exploration of Competency in Graduate Counseling Students.

To participate, you must be at least 18 years old, enrolled in a CACREP-accredited graduate counseling program, and actively engaged in a practicum or internship experience.  If you choose to participate in this study, you can click the link at the end of this message to be redirected to the survey.  There, you will find an introduction and informed consent.  The survey consists of a questionnaire to collect demographics, program status, and training and education received, followed by the Grief Counseling Competencies Scale.

The National Louis University Institutional Review Board has approved this study.  The approval number for this study is ER01399, and it expires on June 24, 2025.  Your participation in this study is voluntary.  Your responses are anonymous and will be kept confidential.  No identifying information will be collected, and your responses will not be connected to your school.  The total time to complete the survey should be no more than 15 minutes.  The online survey will be open from July 1, 2024, through September 8, 2024.  Your timely response is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for considering this invitation.  Your responses will be valuable in increasing the understanding of the effectiveness of graduate counseling programs and identifying areas for improvement in training future counselors to meet the grief counseling needs of young clients.  Your participation in this research contributes to the academic community and the future of counseling.

If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 312-600-5742.

Thank you in advance for your consideration in participating in this study.  I appreciate your time.  You may access the survey using THIS LINK

Sincerely,

Martha Jarmuz