Level 1: A Death Companion

Course Description

This course is designed to grow skills and ways to better support a person or a community during the end-of-life process. This course offers an introductory training in the physical, practical, and emotional care of the living, the dying, and the dead. We discuss who has and who doesn't have access to death care and what role we can hold while working in these racist and biased systems that exist in the United States. 

The curriculum is created to offer education or continuing any person who wants to learn more about support techniques and options available related to choice; with the intention to create a space for dialogue, relationship building, understanding, and engagement. This is the start of a journey and is recommended for all people who will die, or know someone who will. This is also a prerequisite for our Level 2 class. 

Learning Intention

The objective of Level 1: A Death Companion training is to increase the number of people who feel confident in their understanding of choice and care related to end-of-life processes,  procedures, death care access, and their ability to support a person in end-of-life and/or death.

Learn to:

• Define Companion, Doula, and Related Terminology
• Define and Explain End-of-Life / Death Options
• Learn to Offer Consent-based Non-medical Support
• Implement Support Techniques and Options
• Build on Dialogue, Relationship Building, and Understanding
• Share Understandings of Access in Death
• Grow Your Advocacy and Social Engagement

Participant Investment

Time & Environment

This curriculum is offered through Zoom in four hour blocks on three days. This course is live. Participants will be asked to work through the content as a cohort each day, with some individual and small group activities. After the course is completed, participants are invited to participate in self-paced discussion groups (on Slack – or within the learning platform) with other learners. Coursework is regularly updated by facilitators and includes reading, exercises, online discussions, journaling and note-taking, watching videos or listening to audio. The course also includes a 1hr movie as homework after the second day.

Program Fee

The curriculum will be available to both individuals and community groups. Course payment is offered at a sliding-scale rate from $400 - $750+. Custom payment plans are available for all students, please email us and let us know what timeline would best fit your needs. ASP currently offers cost-assistance to reduce the overall fee of the program for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of color (QTBIPOC). In honor of generational QTBIPOC mentorship in this work and in hopes of building towards QTBIPOC-centered wisdom and abundance in our communities. 

A space will be reserved once a person's investment and payment are made in full, or cost assistance zeros the balance. If you can pay more, please do. Our reduced-cost program depends on those who can invest at full cost. Please complete the registration form or email classes@asacredpassing.org to inquire about investment options.