Foundations of Death Care
Online Thursday Cohort:
Spring 2025
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Course Dates: Feb 16 - April 12
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Meetings: Zoom
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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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
kind words by students
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
Meditation Center Director
self-identify your cost
Sliding Scale Pricing:
you choose your investment
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.