Many people in western society find it difficult to discuss their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs about death and dying. The exploration of Early Recollections (ER), part of an Adlerian approach which emphasizes knowledge of a person's private logic, offers one way of understanding attitudes toward death. This study was conducted in order to assist counselors in the facilitation of grief and loss therapy. It measured the levels of verbal and non-verbal death-related self-disclosures. College students (n=61) responded to questions on death and dying and these responses were related to their scores on the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (C-LFDS). Students were divided into two groups: (1) non-verbal; and (2) verbal. Non-verbal participants completed the C-LFDS and an ER questionnaire privately. Verbal subject also completed the C-LFDS privately but they were then interviewed by an anonymous research assistant and asked to verbalize their first three significant experiences that introduced them to the concept of death--their ER. Non-verbal members self-disclosed more information about their ER than did the verbal participants. Results indicate that verbal subjects also inconsistently conveyed their innermost thoughts and fears of death. Therefore, individuals may feel more comfortable relaying their feelings and beliefs toward death if they could do so non-verbally. (Author/RJM)