Discussion Groups for Reflection on Death and Eternity: A Psychosocial Qualitative Study of an Italian Postgraduate Death Education Course

The cultural taboo surrounding death in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) societies highlights the pressing need for death education (DeEd) programmes to foster open discussions on existential finitude and its implications. In educational settings, DeEd develops relational and emotional competencies through experiential learning. This study explores the relevance of targeted discussion groups (DGs) on postgraduate students’ existential awareness, socialization of emotions, and collective, bottom-up meaning-making processes. Twenty-one students from a DeEd programme participated in 10 DG sessions over 3 months, with follow-up interviews conducted with nine participants. Thematic analysis identified six key themes: empathetic relationships in death, personal spirituality, reflections on finitude, the group’s role in understanding and growth, shifts in death perspectives, and the importance of shared experiences. DGs reframed death-related anxiety, built emotional resilience, and encouraged critical re-evaluation of beliefs. DeEd proves transformative, emphasizing empathetic listening and emotional competence, advocating its inclusion in academic curricula to address death-related taboos.