Foundations of Death Care

End-of-Life Doula Class

Summer 2025 – Now open to register!

Explore our unique approach to building skills and connections for end-of-life care:

Grounded in Justice and Intercultural Competency
Our approach, informed by Iliff School of Theology’s longstanding commitment to justice, means that intercultural competencies are at the center of our approach. We honor the unique and diverse experiences of our participants and clients.

Practice Foundational Somatic Training for Real Self-Care
Embodied awareness matters in end-of-life work. We emphasize the importance of somatic awareness and Polyvagal Theory as crucial for a sustainable end-of-life doula practice, both in helping those we serve and for ourselves.

Focus on Interpersonal Communication
End-of-life care includes not just the dying, but their communities of care and all those who love them. We focus on healthy communication patterns as well as understanding non-verbal cues, as well as family systems dynamics.

Connect with a Diverse Community
This course will connect you with leading scholars, practitioners, spiritual leaders, and thinkers from various backgrounds and perspectives in end-of-life care. Join us to change the narrative around end-of-life care.

Details

• New course material opens every Sunday for 8 weeks starting July 6.
• Weekly live Zoom sessions on Thursdays 5:30-7:30 (starting July 10) OR Sundays 4:00-6:00 (starting July 13) – choose the day that works best for you.
• Small group limited to 15 students per cohort.

Total Course Investment
$1600-$2600 for online course; based on sliding scale, see details.

Meet Your Instructor 

Dr. Beverly Wallace will be joining us this summer in teaching “The Foundation of Death Care” in Iliff’s Death Care Collective. An ordained Lutheran clergywoman, Dr. Wallace, a recent board member of the Society for Pastoral Theology and former Associate Professor of Pastoral/Spiritual Care is one the premier experts in African American Grief. Her dissertation entitled, “Religions and Spirituality as Resources for African American Family in End-of-Life Care” has led her down the path of research, teaching, and the praxis of End-of-Life Care.

Dr. Wallace was introduced to the world of Death Doulas by two colleagues: one a former attorney and Director for Disability Services now a Death Doula herself and the other, the founder of “Quality of Life now “Care Doula Education” who was also the Vice President of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. For more than seven years, Dr. Wallace functioned herself as an end-of-life doula. She is currently, the Director of Lifelong Learning at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University.