Companions in End of Life Care
Learn to Companion the Dying with Confidence, Presence, and Grace
Skills for the bedside. Wisdom for life.
Everyone should know how to tend to a dying person with compassionate presence. These skills will change how you listen, how you love, and how you show up in the world. Not just at the bedside, but in every relationship you have.
How we tend to the dying matters. This course will help you do it well.
Learn to be a grounded, compassionate presence
In my work as an end-of-life doula, chaplain, and coach, I’ve listened deeply as dying people share their fears, their love, their lives, and what remains incomplete.
Often, the difficult things that are shared with me are not shared with their loved ones. Many times, it’s not because the dying person doesn’t want to share them, but because they don’t want to cause worry, create stress, be a burden, or risk being seen differently by the people they love most.
When someone feels seen, heard, and loved, it creates an opening for beauty and healing in dying. That is what a skilled companion makes possible, and it’s what you will learn here.
“If you are to die consciously, there’s no time like the present to prepare. The best preparation for death is a life fully lived.”
~ Joan Halifax
A story from the work
I once supported a woman who was ready to stop treatment and prepare to die. When her medical team came to discuss next steps, not one of them explained what declining treatment and dying would actually look like for her.
So I stopped them. I shared that she had told me she was ready to die, and asked them to explain what that would mean. The room filled with awkwardness—they were focused on the medical process, not on truly hearing her.
Over the next months, I companioned her and her family. We had conversations about her life and death. We created space for what needed to be said and for completion.
This is what skilled companioning makes possible: the dying person is heard and supported in their wishes, and everyone remembers that this is a sacred passage, not a medical event.
The Best Time to Practice is Now
“I’ve stopped feeling stuck with the way my mom died. Now I’ve let that go so I can focus on how I can support my dad when it’s his time to die.”
Companions in End of Life Care is for you if:
You are caring for someone who is dying and want to show up for them with presence and love.
You have been with someone through a dying time and want to do it differently next time.
You feel called to this work and want to begin with a solid foundation.
You work in end-of-life care, healthcare, or spiritual care and want to deepen your practice.
You aren’t entirely sure why you’re here. You just know you needed to be.
Why Learn with Rhea?
I TEACH FROM EXPERIENCE
I have sat with the dying and accompanied families through some of the most sacred and difficult moments of their lives. What I teach comes directly from that work.
I PRACTICE WHAT I TEACH
This is a mindful, insightful, and practical approach to companioning. I am devoted to these skills, and I believe everyone facing death deserves this foundation.
I CARE ABOUT YOU TOO
The dying person is not the only one who needs tending. This course was built with your well-being in mind because how you are cared for and held matters too.
What you’ll learn:
Companions in End of Life Care moves from the inside out, beginning with your own relationship to death, grief, and presence, and building outward toward the practical skills of compassionate care.
Module 1: Preparing the Ground
Before you can tend to someone else, you need to know what you’re bringing into the room. You’ll explore your own history with loss and grief, develop your capacity for stillness and presence, and learn how to prepare yourself before entering someone’s sacred space.
Module 2: Compassionate Communication
Deep listening is one of the greatest gifts you can offer someone who is dying. You’ll learn how to listen beyond words, how to read what is present in a room, how to hold silence without rushing to fill it, and how to communicate care across the full spectrum of what another person is expressing.
Module 3: Returning to Rest
Sustainable caregiving begins with sustainable self-care. You’ll explore the myths we carry about rest and self-compassion, identify what you need to sustain yourself through a dying time, and receive practices to help you replenish what you are giving.
Module 4: In the End
This is where it all comes together. You’ll learn the signs of nearing death, how to provide comfort care within your scope, the difference between pain and suffering, how to hold vigil, and how to bring ritual and reverence to this sacred rite of passage.
You’ll receive:
- Videos with full teaching content (closed captioned)
- A course companion workbook with reflection prompts for each module
- Guided practices, including a presence meditation, a practice for death, and healing yoga nidra
- Supplemental resources for going deeper
- Ongoing access to the course portal
This is a self-paced offering that you will complete on your own timeline.
After enrolling, you’ll receive a welcome email with access information to log in to the private course portal.
Companions in End-of-Life Care
1 Payment of $350
All are Welcome!
Please review the Terms of Purchase before enrolling.
Things to Consider
Why do I need this?
This program provides comprehensive skills in deep listening, communication, presence, death literacy, and self-care that elevate care. These are skills that aren’t typically taught in school, university, or on the job. This will help you become a compassionate companion skilled at holding space for those who are dying.
Is this the same as a death doula certification?
No. This program was designed for those who want to learn more about the essential skills in holding space for dying. If you want a professional death doula certificate, you’ll take Apprenticeship With Death after completing this foundational learning.
Is there live support?
This is a self-guided course. There are no live sessions or group facilitation. You’ll work through the materials at your own pace and receive email support for questions.
Where will I find the course content?
The course content will be available to you through a private online portal accessed with a personal login. You will receive a welcome email after purchase.
How long will I have access?
You’ll have ongoing access within your student portal.
About Rhea
Walking alongside death as both teacher and companion has been my sacred journey. Through the profound losses of my baby and grandmother, and years of serving in residential and medical facilities, I’ve learned that our relationship with death holds the power to transform how we live and hold space for one another.
As a Thanatologist, Interspiritual Chaplain Associate, and meditation teacher, I weave together spiritual wisdom and deep reverence for the human experience. It’s the honor of my lifetime to guide others in awakening to this calling, helping them discover their own unique medicine as threshold guardians and stewards of the sacred.