Life-and-death education and counseling in Taiwan

Ms Alice Kwong, senior lecturer of VTC’s Department of Childcare, Elderly and Community Services, said: “Demand for elderly hospice care and grief counseling for family members is rising continually.  We hope our students could gain a better understanding of these issues.  Such related services are more developed in Taiwan, where students could immerse themselves in experiential activities, like ‘being taken care of’ and ‘sleeping in a coffin’, to put themselves in the shoes of the elderly to understand their mindset and needs.  They could also visit a ‘healing garden’ to understand how the layout of different zones, such as the ‘tears pond’ and ‘memorial lawn’, combined with professional counseling, could help people in need emerge from grief, and provide inspiration for our students.”