Death Doula
Certificate Program
Your Journey Begins upon receipt of your tuition...
Home Hospice Association’s Death Doula Certificate Program is designed to educate and empower those who aspire to provide care to the dying and their loved ones. This is for personal support workers, palliative care professionals, clergy and caregivers who want to enhance the end of life care they currently provide for their patients, clients and loved ones.
HHA’s Death Doula Certificate Program will not only equip you with skills, insights and perspectives, but provide you with a network of support from like minded professionals. As a benefit to joining this program, you will gain access to:
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Ongoing Peer to Peer support from your Candidate Advisor
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Access to HHA resources and programs for continued life-long learning
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Network to Death Doula community support groups
For more information about Death Doulas and their importance in end of life care, please click here.
Death Doula Certificate Program
2.5 days of in-class sessions delivered virtually at this time*
Online Independent Learning
Modules in Google Classroom*
Monthly Virtual Workshops*
In following with government guidelines and for the safety of all, we continue to conduct virtual trainings. We look forward to offering hybrid in-person and virtual when safe to do so.
Cost:
$700.00
Inclusive
A $100 deposit is due at registration to secure your spot in your in-class sessions. Payment in full is required to begin your certificate program. Please note, deposits and tuition fees are non-refundable.
Your program begins upon receipt of your tuition
For in-class sessions choose from the following:
January 28 – 30, 2022
April 8 – 10, 2022
June 24 – 26, 2022
Death Doula
Certificate Program
Why Choose Home Hospice Association as your Death Doula Educators?
Our Death Doula Certificate Program was created by a team of subject matter experts who share a common passion for educating and empowering caregivers and palliative care workers. Our educators come from diverse backgrounds and bring experiences in spiritual, death and bereavement care and are focused on educating Death Doulas on a holistic approach to the end of life journey. To date, we have trained over 2oo Death Doulas who provide services across Canada.
Merri-Lee Culbert
Professional Development Team Lead
Bereavement Specialist, Death Doula and Reiki Master/Teacher
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
“Sharing of real experiences. It is different when you are face to face with someone as they tell their stories. Yes a book is informative, but seeing the emotion in our teacher’s body language and speech just ingrains the experience to a higher level. ”
Learning Outcomes
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Explore your role as a Death Doula assisting clients (and their loved ones) before, during, and after the death.
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Experience what active dying looks like in order to educate your client’s family on what to expect
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Gain practical knowledge of the four domains of care a Death Doula provides
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Build strategies to help prepare clients & families for the journey with compassion beginning with the strategy of self-compassion
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Achieve awareness about how your own death experiences may influence your work in order to manage your reactions and possible fears
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Develop your language around common medical terminology in order to communicate information your client may need to discuss
Program Content Includes:
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History of Deathcare
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Evolving Role of a Death Doula
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Grief & Bereavement
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Tending to the Spiritual, Physical & Emotional Needs of the Dying
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What Active Dying Looks Like
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When the Death Occurs
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Contacting the Funeral Home
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Honouring a Life - Rituals, Traditions and Cultural Awareness
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The Art & Skill of Compassionate Communication
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Reserving Judgement
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Palliative Sedation and Medical Assistance in Dying
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Consultation Practice
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Vigil Practice
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Selfcare, Triggers and Debriefing
There are Four Components of our Death Doula Certificate Program. Should you choose HHA as your death care educators, your learning journey will look like this:
Once your tuition is paid in full, you will be admitted into the Compassionate Caregiving Training class in Google Classroom. In Compassionate Caregiving, you are introduced to areas like the role of a caregiver, spiritual care at the end of life, legacy, and ethics in hospice palliative care. When you complete Compassionate Caregiving, you are then admitted into Independent Studies where you have an opportunity to look into your community needs, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and so much more. You will then complete your Virtual training weekend with the facilitators and move into the final piece of your training, Death Doula Projects & Assignments, to implement what you learned over the weekend.
1. Compassionate Caregiving (Online in Google Classroom)
7 modules include topics such as:
- Spiritual Care at End of Life
- Ethics in Hospice Palliative Care
- The Role of a Caregiver
2. Independent Studies (Online in Google Classroom)
4 mandatory modules with some optional modules include topics such as:
- Community Resources
- Leadership
- MAiD – Medical Assistance in Dying
- How to Talk to Youth About Dying and Death
3. In-class Sessions (Virtual in Google Meets)
Two and a half days including topics such as:
- Grief & Bereavement
- Advance Care Planning
- Vigils and Living Wakes
- Active Dying
- Funeral Services
4. Death Doula Projects & Assignments (Online in Google Classroom)
Final classroom including topics such as:
- Case Studies
- Practicum Experience
- Community Engagement
- Optional Learning Nights
- Death Doula Placement
For more information about Death Doulas please click here or if you have any additional questions about HHA’s Death Doula Training and Certification Program, please email Merri-Lee Culbert