Foundations of Death Education

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8 Content Units
1. The Practice of Death Care
2. Justice & Ethics
3. Legal and Medical
4. Legacy & Quality of Life
5. Spiritual & Religious
6. Practical & Thanatology
7. Communication & Community
8. Taking the Leap

What do you learn?
An end-of-life doula (EOLD) is a non-medical, non-denominational holistic companion who guides and supports a dying person, recognizes their individual needs and ensures they feel loved, valued, and affirmed. They do this by:

Creating Sacred Spaces
Creating and holding sacred and/or compassionate space whether in a hospital, hospice, or home
Honoring Spiritual Beliefs
Honoring the person’s religion/spirituality or atheism/agnosticism
Understanding Family Dynamics
Supporting the person’s family and communities
Communicating With Teams
Working in collaboration with other providers
Anticipating Unique Needs
Sharing information and resources to ease transitions

This course runs for 8 weeks. Here is a Sampling of Major Assignments:

Meet your teacher,
Jennifer Leonard
 

Jennifer has been working in the integrative health field for 20 years. Her training began in medical school and shifted into Traditional Chinese Medicine and Mind Body Medicine. Her work has included community clinics, hospital settings, private practice and higher education.

A background in small business and program development has allowed her to mentor other professionals who are starting their own business. Jennifer has brought her skills into end of life care with her clients and volunteer work with Denver Hospice and the Crestone End of Life Project. In recent years, she has served as a licensed psilocybin facilitator under Colorado’s Natural Medicine Program.

Jennifer has a strong connection to nature and spends her free time hiking in the Sangre De Cristo mountains, gardening, and enjoying time outdoors. She is deeply inspired by the dark skies of the San Luis Valley where she lives and builds time into her life for regular star gazing.

An Important Note About End of Life Doula Certification

There is currently no governing body or licensure process for doulas in the United States. There is a non-profit group, the National End-of-Life Doula Association (NEDA), that serves a limited function of providing support, cohesion, and resources for Doulas. According to NEDA’s website:

"Holding a certification from a trainer or training entity, while valuable in confirming a certain degree of accomplishment and identifying the training type, is not the same as being certified or licensed by an independent, 3rd party certifier, in the way that nurses, CNAs, counselors, therapists, contractors, cosmetologists, and others are."

Certificate of Course Completion vs. liff Death Doula Certification

Participants who complete this course will receive a Certificate of Course Completion. Those who wish to attain an Iliff Death Doula Certification will have to complete all of the requirements (see below).

This course will provide a strong foundation for work as a Death Doula, but is not equivalent to being licensed by a governing body. The value of a certification from Iliff is in the distinction of having completed a rigorous preparatory training from a distinguished school of theology known for its emphasis for justice work. This program is unique for that association and the certification will carry that significance in the larger community.

Option 1: Completion Certificate

In order to achieve completion of the course, participants need to adhere to the Group Learning Agreement and complete all their own Individual Learning Agreement goals. This option may best serve those who are not seeking professional goals and who may not have the time or capacity to complete every single assignment or those who need to miss multiple Zoom meetings.

Option 2: Iliff Doula Certification 

The second option is to seek full certification.  This option is best for people who want to serve as EOLDs or are using the training as professional development.To be eligible for Iliff’s Death Doula Certification, participants must:

• Honor the Group Learning Agreement
• Meet their Individual Learning Agreement goals
• Complete all course assignments
• Demonstrate basic competence of the course’s Learning Objectives
• Successfully complete a one-on-one comprehensive final interview

"The Foundations of Death Care class at Iliff is exceptional.  Not only have I learned new and interesting skills and concepts that will support my job as a hospice Chaplain, but I have also met the most wonderful, new community of people who have informed me in so many ways.  Whether you are new to the concept of death and dying and just want to learn more or are already a veteran professional in the field, you will not be disappointed in what you take away from this incredible, new innovative course."

Annie Groves, MDiv
Hospice Chaplain
 

"This is an amazing, embodied, educational experience through the processes of living, loving and dying. Beth is an invitational facilitator who is attuned to the specific needs and hopes of her colleagues. It is a heartfelt journey as a group together exploring the multiple layers of dying and loss with individuals, systems, and organizations. Highly highly recommend!"

Rev Dr. Dee Cooper
Lead Presbyter, Denver 

I’m here to share that this course has been truly transformative. This course improved our awareness of the power of justice, compassion, and community. With this awareness, we can enter the current conventional space of death care and empower people, especially the vulnerable. I highly recommend that you dive in and experience the power of this course. Your worldview, how you view death, death care, and life, will blossom and enrich your way of being. "

Jiyoon Lee
Meditation Center Director