My response: You've asked me whether a license is required in order for you to do counseling in your home for bereaved parents and siblings. I'm not sure how you're defining "counseling" and I don't know the laws regulating counseling in your state, but I do believe that, in order to practice effectively as a bona fide bereavement counselor, a person should have a certain level of education, training and experience, and should be professionally certified in that specialty (see Professional Certification Programs in Grief and Bereavement).
That is not to say, however, that you must have a fancy university degree with a bunch of letters after your name (what I call "alphabet soup") in order to be an effective helper or, as you so poignantly describe it, a person "wanting to help others walk this path in life that we never intended on taking".
If you're really interested in this sort of helping, I would suggest that you find some way to gain some practical experience in the bereavement field, such as volunteering a few hours a week in your local hospice organization. You might contact your local mortuaries to see what bereavement services they offer and see if you can get involved there. Learn whether there is a chapter of The Compassionate Friends in your community, and go to one of their meetings or attend one of their support groups -- or see if they'd help you start a group of your own.
It's also important to read all you can find about normal grief and loss. Although grief affects everyone differently, certain feelings and reactions are fairly universal and predictable. When you know what normal grief looks like, you will know better how to evaluate the reactions of others as they travel their own grief journey, as well as what you might do to help them negotiate their way through grief successfully. I've written a number of articles as well as my own book on grief (see Marty's Articles and Finding Your Way Through Grief). See also the works of William Worden, Kenneth Doka, Phyllis Silverman, Therese Rando, Alan Wolfelt and Earl Grollman. All these authors/clinicians/academicians have written extensively in the field of loss; search for their work on the internet. Your local library or bookstore will have on hand any number of books written by these noted experts.
I hope this information proves useful to you, my dear, and I wish you all the best as you pursue your goal of helping others navigate loss. Blessings to you for wanting to do so! If there is anything else I can offer you, please let me know.
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