Home Hospice Association

Death Doula Certificate Program

Program Overview

Our Certificate Program is designed to combine maximum flexibility with support from a peer learning network.

Program Description & Benefits

Home Hospice Association’s Death Doula Certificate Program educates and empowers those who aspire to offer quality care to the dying and their loved ones.

Whether you're an individual learning how to better support a loved one or a professional hoping to advance your client care, our Certificate Program will equip you with the necessary skills, insights, and perspectives to draw the circle of compassionate care wider, while providing you with a peer-support network as well as guidance from highly qualified and experienced professionals.

By becoming a Death Doula through HHA, you will receive:

A certificate of completion to recognize your acquired skills and knowledge to support and encourage grieving individuals and their families

Personalized support from your Candidate Advisor

Access to HHA resources and programs for continued learning

Free admission to Death Doula community networking and support groups

If you're not yet sure what a Death Doula does or if it's the right fit for you, learn more about the importance of Death Doulas in end-of-life care on our HHA Death Doulas page.

Program Dates

This program is designed for you to learn at your own pace. Except for the 2.5-day in-class (online) component, you can complete the rest of the learning at your own speed and on your own time.

When you register, you will choose a learning cohort, which will meet online for the weekend training session. All other Certificate Program requirements can be completed at your own pace.

Registration is now open for the following cohorts:

Summer 2024

Weekend Training Session: June 21-23 **FULL**

Fall 2024

Weekend Training Session: September 6-8

Winter 2025

Weekend Training Session: January 10-12

As soon as you register and pay your registration fee (even if you have registered for a cohort that is several months away), you will get immediate access to the first online learning components of the program. You will also receive invitations to all HHA's doula candidate learning nights and other educational and social events.

Program Structure

HHA's Death Doula Certificate Program includes four learning components:

1. Compassionate Caregiving Modules

(Online in Google Classroom)

7 modules, including topics such as:

Spiritual Care at End-of-Life
Ethics in Hospice Palliative Care
The Role of a Caregiver

3. Weekend In-Class Training Sessions

(Virtual in Google Meet)

2.5 days, including topics such as:

Grief & Bereavement
Advance Care Planning
Vigils and Living Wakes
Active Dying
Funeral Services

*Ongoing training in specialized topics is provided through optional monthly learning nights

2. Independent Studies

(Online in Google Classroom)

4 mandatory modules with some optional modules, including topics such as:

The State of Palliative Care in Canada
How to Help Adults Talk to Children & Youth About Dying and Death

4. Death Doula Projects & Experience

(Online in Google Classroom)

Final projects & assignments, including topics such as:

Case Studies
Book Reviews

Practical Experience
Community Engagement

Optional Group Projects

Death Doula Certificate Program

Certificate Program Fee

$700

(inclusive)

Paid by e-transfer to funds@homehospiceassociation.com

Payment in full is required to begin the Certificate Program.

As soon as we receive your registration fee, you'll get access to learning materials and events, including role play nights, guest speakers, and other invitation-only networking and educational sessions.

Please Note: Registration fees are non-refundable. However, if you are unable to attend your cohort's weekend training session, you are able to join another cohort with a minimum of 30 days notice.

Included with Fee

Online independent learning modules in Google Classrooms - learn at your own pace!

2.5 days of in-class sessions, delivered virtually via Google Meet (see dates below)

Online independent projects and assignments in Google Classrooms

Ongoing Professional Development Training Through Monthly Virtual Learning Nights

Cohort Learning Training Sessions
(online via Google Meet)

June 21-23, 2024 ***FULL***

September 6-8, 2024

January 10-12, 2025

To complete the Certificate Program, your attendance is mandatory during one online weekend classroom session.

Class times for all sessions:

Friday: 6pm-9pm (ETZ)

Saturday: 9am-5pm (ETZ)

Sunday: 9am-5pm (ETZ)

All other Certificate Program requirements can be completed asynchronously.

Meet the Facilitators

Lisa Bonneville

Lisa is a death doula and hospice and bereavement counsellor, as well as a facilitator for HHA’s Death Doula and MAiD and the Death Doula Certificate Programs. She believes that communication plays a huge role in preparing for end-of-life as well as the grief that follows. She’ll talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime about dying, death and everything in between.

Most of Lisa’s experience is in residential hospice but she has also worked in long-term care, funeral homes and had the privilege of caring for palliative Catholic Nuns. Many people have had a hand in supporting and guiding her along the way to where she is today, and she does her best to pass on this wisdom and knowledge in her own teaching.

Glen Burkholder

Glen is a co-founder of Home Hospice Association and has been a funeral director since 1986. Originally from the Niagara Region, he moved to Toronto in 2012. He is a member of the Niagara District Funeral Service Association and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Toronto District Funeral Directors Inc. and the Ontario Funeral Service Association. In February 2023, Glen joined the team of McKersie & Early Funeral Home in Milton, Ontario.

Glen is especially passionate about HHA’s continued education and training mission, and is deeply involved in the development and facilitation of the Death Doula and Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula certificate programs.

Cari Ferguson

Cari is a trainer for both the Death Doula and Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula (IPLD) training programs, as well as being the Candidate Advisor for the IPLD Certificate Program. Additionally, Cari is HHA's communication manager.

Cari is deeply passionate about death and grief education. She is the founder of Strong Winds Consulting, a professional bereavement service that provides insight, guidance, and companionship to those approaching their end of life as well as grief support to those in mourning.

Kayla Moryoussef

Kayla has been a death and grief worker since 2012. In 2018, she was trained and certified as a Death Doula through Home Hospice Association, where she now trains and teaches others. She works in Toronto (and everywhere - virtually!). She started her private practice, GoodDeath.ca in 2019.

Kayla believes in access to equitable end-of-life care as a universal human right, and is committed to supporting & cultivating communities equipped to better care for their dying.

Laura Silver

In addition to sitting on Home Hospice Association’s Board of Directors, Laura Silver is a Certified Death Doula with HHA and is HHA’s current Calgary Chapter Champion. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband, two of three children, and two dogs.

Before moving to Alberta in 2016, Laura spent close to fifteen years as a Senior Policy Advisor and Project Manager in the Ontario health care system, as a public servant and also as a Senior Project Manager at Cancer Care Ontario. She contributed to the Ontario Diabetes Strategy, the Home-Based Primary Care Strategy, and the Seniors Strategy. Earlier in her career, in the University Health Network, Laura helped build the multidisciplinary approach to health care, participated in the development of the Toronto Central LHIN and contributed to the UHN's Palliative Care Strategy. After moving to Alberta, Laura led the creation of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program for newborns, and spent three years improving patient access to specialist care in the province as the Senior Project Manager for eReferral. Laura is a Certified Lean Green Belt in Healthcare as well as PROSCI certified.

Laura has a vision of every community having their local death doula, and that every member of every community has access to the resources, support and compassionate care that allows them to spend their final days in comfort and peace in their chosen space.

Bianca Zimperi

Bianca is a lawyer and member of the Hamilton Law Association. She is also a writer and certified life & wellness coach, and the creator of the online platform @good.grieving. In her work, she hopes to educate society on providing better support to grievers while also inspiring grievers to learn to live alongside their grief. As HHA’s Advanced Care Planning Expert, Bianca is a guest speaker for the Death Doula Certificate Program. She also participates in HHA's "What would you do" nights.

Death Doula Certificate Program

Why Choose Home Hospice Association?

Our Death Doula Certificate Program was created - and is continuously being revised and updated - by a team of experts who share a common passion for educating and bringing comprehensive knowledge and practical perspectives to end-of-life care. Our educators come from diverse backgrounds and bring experiences in birthing, end-of-life, and bereavement care.

Our program provides extensive opportunities for engagement between students, facilitators, and special guest speakers. Over the course of the program, you will acquire valuable skills and will get the chance to apply your learnings and nurture your professional networks in order to further expand your knowledge.

To date, we have trained hundreds of death doulas who provide services across Canada.

Testimonials

“Glen is a very genuine person who has a warm and calming aura whenever he speaks. He is truly in the field he was born to be in. His natural, serene demeanour is trusting and inspires anyone to be a better person towards not only vulnerable grieving people, but to everyone who needs it.”

Learning Outcomes

Explore your role as a death doula assisting clients (and their loved ones) before, during, and after the death

Experience what active dying looks like in order to educate your client’s family on what to expect

Gain practical knowledge of the four domains of care a death doula provides (legacy, death planning, vigil, and grief)

Build compassionate strategies to help prepare clients & families for their grief journey, beginning with self-compassion

Achieve awareness about how your own death experiences may influence your work in order to manage your reactions and possible fears

Topics Covered

History of deathcare

Evolving role of a death doula

Grief & bereavement, including the complexity of grief and how to respond effectively to expressions of grief

Tending to the spiritual, physical & emotional needs of the dying

Compassionate and empathetic communication

What active dying looks like

When the death occurs

Contacting the funeral home

Honouring a life - rituals, traditions, and cultural awareness

Reserving judgement

Palliative sedation and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

Consultation practice

Vigil practice

Selfcare, triggers, and debriefing

Home Hospice Association

Death Doula Certificate Program

Program Overview

Program Description & Benefits

Program Dates

Program Structure

Death Doula Certificate Program

Certificate Program Fee

Included with Fee

Cohort Learning Training Sessions (online via Google Meet)

Meet the Facilitators

Death Doula Certificate Program

Why Choose Home Hospice Association?

Testimonials

Learning Outcomes

Topics Covered

Frequently Asked Questions

Cohort Learning Training Sessions
(online via Google Meet)