apprenticeship with death

An immersive End of Life practitioner Training

An Apprenticeship With Death means you are cultivating inner and outer environments that allow for exploration, reflection, and creativity.  When you do this, you create a space where true growth can occur and discover new depths of understanding and meaning for life and death.  You tend to a natural unfolding of the processes of what it is to be human. 

This apprenticeship is an invitation to open a portal of deep thinking, discernment, and unique experience that cannot be fully taught or explained through intellect alone.  This is a heart-opening embodiment experience for you to learn something for real.  In your bones, your cells, and your energetic field.  When you become an Apprentice with Death, you are living in sacred c0-creation, artistic leadership, and divine prayer. 

Is this right for you?

Accepting the reality of death and exploring its deeper meaning opens up a world of insight and transformation that will enrich your life in ways you never imagined possible.  It is a privilege to help someone plan for the end of their life and an honor to tend to their last breaths.  

An Apprenticeship With Death is first and foremost an apprenticeship with yourself.  You begin this personal journey with introspection and self-reflection by becoming intimate with your own mortality and seeking to better understand the meaning you make of life and death.  Intentional self care and commitment to knowing yourself are foundational to this course.  When you are in an apprenticeship with yourself, you gain greater wisdom, insight, and compassion for yourself and others.

Deeply knowing your why, your motivation to serve as an end of life doula, not only fosters your heart of compassion, but your family’s, community’s, and the world’s.

What you will learn in this training:

꩜  To restore reverence to the dying process

꩜  How to foster meaningful relationships when accompanying the dying

꩜  The impact of compassionate presence at the end of life

꩜  Understanding the mind, body, and spirit journey of dying, death, and grief.

꩜  End of life planning and decision making

꩜  Cross-cultural perspectives of grief and loss and alternative perspectives on life and death

꩜  Develop skills in dying, death, and grief.

What to expect from this training:

꩜  An immersive experience of multi-faceted learning.  Including, self-paced sessions, live virtual gatherings, in-person retreat, peer support, and guest speakers.

꩜  In order to graduate from this program and receive a certificate of completion, self-study, out-of-class reading, reflective writing, 75% live attendance, and 15 hours of volunteer service with hospice or other are required.

꩜  This is a rigorous and rewarding curriculum where you will be supported by a responsive staff, timely communications, and a reliable, easy to navigate learning platform.  All live classes will be recorded.

꩜  As the lead facilitator, Rhea will provide personal support and feedback to refine the critical skills needed to serve as an end of life practitioner.

꩜  Deepen your capacity and resiliency by learning to tend to yourself as a sacred vessel.  This is a vital aspect of being of service in any end of life setting.  Fill your cup first.

Prerequisites

Grief, dying, and death can bring up emotions that may have been lying dormant or untended for years.  Prior to embarking on this Apprenticeship with Death, The following is advised:

꩜  daily prioritization of self-care practices to nurture your wellbeing

꩜  openness to insights into different cultural, spiritual, and psychological perspectives

꩜  willingness to research parts of your ancestral legacy

꩜  practice self-awareness, healthy boundaries, critical thinking, and act from a place of personal autonomy

꩜  personal responsibility for resourcing someone to process with you if you need support

꩜  acknowledgment of historic and current systems of oppression and commitment to transformation

While the rise of death doulas is relatively new, the practice of death care is ancient.  In modern times end of life practitioners have backgrounds in areas such as yoga, nursing, hospice, palliative care, social work, spiritual care, medical care, chaplaincy, funerals, life coaching, counseling, bereavement, holistic healing, Reiki, acupuncture, and so much more.  Even if none of those are you, please apply.

this doula training includes:

Although you will receive a certificate upon completion, please note, this is a training program, not a certification or licensing program.  Currently, end of life practitioners/doulas/midwives are not regulated by a governing body.

Schedule

We meet via Zoom
Sessions are every Thursday 3-5 PM CT
January 11 – April 25, 2024
May 3, 4, 5, 2024 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) | Retreat in Central Kansas

The Focus of the Certificate Training

 This training is for those who desire to be in a relationship with dying, death, and grief that is deeper than surface-level learning.  This is an invitation to a new state of consciousness.

The emphasis will be on the following:
History and cultural practices of tending to dying, death, and grief
Cultivating deep listening skills and compassionate communication
Embrace diversity and honor different cultural perspectives in your work
Explore how spiritual aspects foster connection and meaning-making
Integrate the wisdom inherent in the cycles of the natural world
Expand awareness of the different types of grief
Holding brave space for open dialogue, exploration, and challenging situations
Engaging in a collaborative care model
Understand the power of ritual and ceremony to guide and support
What does it mean to lead change
Skills for holding space for others in circular leadership

your guide

Rhea Mader (she/her)

Founder, Lead Facilitator

Rhea is an End of Life Practitioner, Interspiritual Chaplain Associate, Instinctive Meditation® teacher, and certified Life Coach. Her personal losses, including the death of her baby and grandmother, along with her professional experiences in residential and medical facilities, ignited her passion for transforming the way we hold space for the tenderness of life and death in the face of trauma, isolation, and deep grief.  She says it is the honor of a lifetime to facilitate and witness heartfelt conversations about life and death and the embodied experience of being wholly human.  In addition, Rhea has trained nearly 200 end of life doulas and educators at the Conscious Dying Institute.

Investment & Reciprocity

I rise in responsibility for the change I want to see in ethical marketing practices, fair access, and livable earnings.  Built on principles of prosperity, accessibility, inclusion, wellness, and sustainability, I offer a sliding scale with no applications for scholarships or systems of proof.  I only ask that you reflect honestly on your monetary resources to invest/exchange what you are able.  If you or your organization are in a place of plenty, pay it forward by offering that abundance at a higher level. 

The enroll button above will open a new window where you can choose your payment rate and payment plan if you desire.

Tuition does not include travel expenses, airfare, or airport transfer to and from the retreat.

Fully commit before you enroll.  Enrolling gives you access to privileged intellectual property.  If you need to cancel, you will receive a full refund, minus a $250 processing fee, until the day of the first virtual meeting.  Starting on the day of the first virtual meeting, tuition is not refundable.

Questions & Answers

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