Foundations of Death Care
Online Thursday Cohort:
Spring 2025

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  • Course Dates: Feb 16 - April 12
  • Meetings: Zoom
  • Cohort Meets: 6-8:00pm Thursdays
Course overview
This 8 week course will provide resources, supportive community, and training for understanding the foundations of death care for serving as an End-of-Life Doula. Online learning with weekly Zoom sessions on Thursdays, February 16 - April 12, 2025 from 6-8:00 pm MST. Limited to 15 students.
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Certification included
Create your own learning agreement and make the course work for you! You can choose to finish with an Iliff End-of-Life Doula Certificate that will prepare you to serve in your community.

Our unique approach to building skills and connections for end of life care

 
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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.

Practice Foundational Somatic Training

Embodied awareness matters in end of life work. We emphasize the importance of somatic awareness and Polyvagel Theory as crucial for a sustainable end-of-life doula practice.

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.

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.

How does the
course work?

Learn from 8 units addressing the most important topics in end-of-life doula care. Participants learn and study online on their own, then meet Wednesdays from 5:00-8:00 pm at Iliff School of Theology, 2323 East Iliff Avenue, Denver CO 80210.
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Total Course Investment

$1600-$2600 for online course

Based on sliding scale, 
see details below

Payment Plans Available

8 Content Units

1. Centering Ourselves
2. Justice & Ethics
3. Legal and Medical
4. Legacy & Quality of Life
5. Spiritual & Religious
6. Practical & Thanatology
7. Communication & Community
8. Preparing Ourselves

Rich Learning Material

Instructor-Created Videos
Weekly Discussion Forums
Varied Assignment Modes
Weekly Journals
Videos, Podcasts, Articles

Customized Goals

Learners may pursue a learning context that makes sense for them:

a Certificate of Completion,

or commit to the more professional pathway of
Death Doula Certification

Meet your teacher,
Beth Elliot

Beth is a Unitarian Universalist minister with over 20 years experience in end-of-life care. She is a proud member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, and holds their Proficiency Badge. She began her journey as an End of Life Doula in 2001 when she began caring for a series of family members and friends as they faced terminal diagnoses, accompanying them all the way through to their deaths. She completed the Soul Midwife training in the UK in 2011 and afterwards started her own doula business, Ease LLC. As a Death Doula, Beth has collaborated with numerous hospices, including training hospice volunteers, running grief/caregiver support groups, and hosting Death Cafés. Beth completed her Clinical Pastoral Education as a chaplain at St. Anthony North hospital in Westminster Colorado.
Patrick Jones - Course author

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
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What Students Are Saying

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
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
self-identify your cost

Sliding Scale Pricing:
you choose your investment

We are committed to making this program as accessible and affordable as possible while also maintaining high quality educational tools, exceptional facilitators, and ongoing support through community care. We ask that you consider contributing at the highest level possible in order to live into the values of generosity and mutual aid. 


In lieu of scholarships, this "pay what you will" system of tiered tuition allows us to provide the highest quality while supporting more expansive community inclusion. This, in turn, benefits everyone. Your payment level is entirely self-chosen; there is no documentation or justification required, and it will in no way affect your participation or access to all course materials.

The factors to consider, shown below, are asked in the Iliffian spirit of justice and redistribution. We recognize death care as essential and we invite you to join us in our efforts to grow this program and have as large an impact as possible. Please reach out with questions. Thank you!
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When determining your payment level, please consider the following factors:


  • Do you plan to use this in personal or professional contexts?
  • Do you have institutional support for this cost?
  • Do you have zero to no debt, or do you have disposible income?
  • Have you had difficulty accessing or affording health care?
  • Does your income only support you, and not other loved ones?
  • Do you plan to "pay it forward" in other, non-financial ways?

Sliding Scale Course Payment Options:
Choose What Works for You

The Final Curtain
$1600

Excellent! So glad to have you!

Payment Plan Options:
  • One-time $1600 payment
  • Four monthly $400 payments
  • Eight monthly $200 payments

The Last Chapter
$2100

Terrific! I love this for you!

Payment Plan Options:
  • Two monthly $1050 payments
  • Four monthly $525 payments
  • Eight monthly $262.50 payments

The Great Equalizer 
$2600

Welcome! Let's do this!

Payment Plan Options:
  • Two monthly $1300 payments
  • Four monthly $650 payments
  • Eight monthly $325 payments

Still have questions?
Join our live Zoom Q&A Session
January 28, 6-7:00 MST 

Zoom link for the Q&A session provided as part of the free info course - mark your calendar, join us and find out more.
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