Become a Death Doula. Walk the Path with Farewell.
A layered training rooted in ritual, storytelling, and practical bedside care, designed for those called to serve the dying.
Where Reverence Meets Rigor
At Farewell Fellowship, we offer comprehensive death doula training and hands-on mentorship for those called to serve the dying and their families.
Our paths are grounded in storytelling, cultural reverence, and community care. Based in Nashville, with national virtual offerings.
Explore all 4 Farewell Paths
Kindling Path
A self-paced virtual death doula training
Foundations Path
Virtual death doula certification with mentorship
Thresholds Path
In-person death doula certification with mentorship & hands-on practice
Rooted Path
Advanced apprenticeship with expanded curriculum & deepened practice
New to Death Work? Start Here.
A sacred first step for the curious and called.
Death Doula 101 is a 90-minute virtual mini-course designed to gently illuminate the path ahead. You’ll learn the foundations of the doula model of care, the evolving roles death doulas play today, and the most common ways people step into this sacred work. Whether you’re feeling a quiet pull or a loud calling, this is your place to begin.
Includes 5 essential book recommendations to deepen your death literacy.
Choose Your Pathway into Deathwork
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Kindling
A self-paced virtual death doula training to spark your journey in deathwork.
Kindling is a comprehensive, self-guided end-of-life education program designed for those seeking a deep, soulful understanding of death care without the commitment of live mentorship or formal apprenticeship.
This virtual death doula course includes six in-depth modules on discerning your call, honoring your grief, energy work, advance care planning, the physical and spiritual dying process, and supporting through traumatic death, allowing you to learn at your own pace, from anywhere in the world.
Includes:
6 virtual modules (50+ hours of teaching and resources)
Journaling prompts, rituals, and integration practices
Curated readings, videos, and guided reflections
Lifetime access
You’ll Receive:
Certificate of Completion
Tuition: $1,111
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Foundations
A live, virtual training to root you in the core of deathwork.
Foundations is a mentored virtual course designed to guide you into the heart of death care. The program includes six in-depth modules on discerning your call, honoring your grief, energy work, advance care planning, the physical and spiritual dying process, and traumatic death, each paired with one-on-one mentorship to support integration and clarity in your practice.
Includes:
6 virtual modules (50+ hours of teaching and resources)
6 live 1:1 mentorship sessions (75 minutes via Zoom)
Monthly community circle sessions
Journaling prompts, rituals, and integration practices
Curated readings, videos, and guided reflections
Lifetime access
You’ll Receive:
Certified Death Doula designation
Certificate of Completion & Mentorship
Eligibility to apply for Apprenticeship
Tuition: $2,222
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Thresholds
A hybrid path for those ready to learn at the bedside.
Thresholds includes the full Foundations program, with the addition of in-person hospice shadowing. Alongside six virtual modules and Zoom mentorship, you’ll complete six in-person shadow shifts in Middle Tennessee, bringing the work into your body and community. Ideal for those ready to move from concept into lived practice.
Includes:
6 virtual modules (50+ hours of teaching and resources)
6 one-on-one Zoom mentorship sessions (75 minutes each)
6 in-person hospice shadow shifts (Middle TN)
Monthly community circle sessions
Journaling prompts, rituals, and integration practices
Curated readings, videos, and guided reflections
Lifetime access
You’ll Receive:
Certified Death Doula designation
Certificate of Completion & Mentorship
Eligibility to apply for Apprenticeship
Tuition: $3,333
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Rooted
Advanced study and collaborative integration for those stepping fully into the work.
The Farewell Rooted Apprenticeship is the final stage in the core training path, taken after completing Foundations or Thresholds. Apprentices deepen their practice through three advanced curriculum modules focused on hospice systems, grief & bereavement, and after-death care, including home funerals. The journey also includes a capstone project: co-creating a virtual or in-person offering with Jade, and participation in monthly community circles for peer connection and ongoing reflection.
Includes:
3 advanced curriculum modules
5 additional 75-minute Zoom mentorship sessions
Capstone project: co-led community offering (virtual or in-person)
Monthly community circle sessions
Continued journaling, ritual, and integration practices
Lifetime access to all training materials
You’ll Receive:
Certified Death Doula Apprentice designation
Apprenticeship Completion Certificate & Capstone Endorsement
Eligibility to serve as TA or peer mentor in future cohorts
Tuition: $1,111
Why Train With Farewell?
Farewell offers one of the only mentorship-based death doula training programs led by an actively practicing doula. This is not a generic online course, it’s a living lineage of care, rooted in over seven years of hands-on experience at the bedside.
As a certified death doula, educator, and hospice partner, I’ve built a powerful bridge between training and practice. My apprentices serve real clients, shadow in our local hospice, and are personally introduced to a trusted network of community partners, from funeral homes and ritualists to palliative care physicians and home funeral guides.
The Farewell curriculum is unlike anything else in the field. It blends practical skills in end-of-life care with a deep philosophical foundation, mystical reflection, and trauma-informed presence. Born from my academic background in philosophy and shaped through hundreds of hours at the threshold, the training invites not just learning but transformation.
Whether you’re seeking end-of-life doula certification, advanced mentorship, or a spiritually grounded path into deathwork, Farewell offers something rare: real-world access, relational guidance, and curriculum that speaks to the soul.
What You Might Be Wondering
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Farewell is one of the only programs led by an actively practicing death doula, with real client work, hospice shadowing, and mentorship deeply woven into every stage of training. Plus, this path calls special people and together we connect frequently in community.
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No experience is required. The Kindling, Foundations & Thresholds programs are open to anyone drawn to this work, whether you're seeking professional certification or personal transformation. Rooted requires completion of a death doula training program.
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Yes! The Kindling, Foundations & Rooted programs are fully virtual, with Zoom-based mentorship, and can be completed from anywhere in the world.
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No, but I recommend you have some place to practice. While hospice volunteering can be a powerful doorway into this work, it’s not required to begin training or the only path available.
In fact, many students use Foundations to discern whether bedside work is part of their path and Thresholds includes direct hospice experience for those who are ready.
Nursing homes, hospitals, and even family can serve as training grounds to cultivate these sacred tools.
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Foundations is fully virtual and includes six modules paired with one-on-one Zoom mentorship. Thresholds includes everything in Foundations, plus six in-person hospice shadow shifts in Middle Tennessee. Both lead to certification and eligibility for the Rooted Apprenticeship path.
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Kindling completion earns a Certificate of Completion in Death Doula Training (similar to INELDA). Graduates of Foundations and Thresholds receive a Certified Death Doula designation. Rooted Apprentices earn the additional title of Certified Death Doula Apprentice upon completion of the advanced training and capstone project.
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Kindling, Foundations and Thresholds can be completed in 3–9 months, depending on your pace and availability.
Rooted Apprenticeship is more spacious and relational, typically unfolding over 6–9 months.
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Not at all. People are called to this work for many reasons. Some serve clients, others accompany loved ones, some feel drawn to ritual and grief support. Many build these tools to support other work (grief counselors, Reiki masters, clinicians). All are welcome.
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Begin with Death Doula 101, a $50 mini course designed to help you explore the heart of this work and discern whether the path is right for you. From there, you’re welcome to reach out with questions or schedule a brief connection call. You don’t need to have it all figured out, the call is enough. We’ll walk the rest together.
The Farewell Doula Graduates & Students
These are the faces of those who have answered the call. Farewell apprentices and graduates come from many walks of life, but they share a common devotion: to presence, to care, and to walking beside the dying with steady hands and open hearts. Each of them has moved through this training not just as a student, but as a companion in a growing lineage of relational, embodied deathwork.
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![Headshot of Rebecca Harris, Farewell Fellowship graduate death doula in Middle Tennessee, bringing grounded presence to end-of-life care.]()
Rebecca Harris (Nashville, TN)
Certified Death Doula, Apprenticeship Graduate
Specialties: Bedside presence, transitional support, therapeutic listening
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![Portrait of Heather DeWire, a graduate of the Farewell Fellowship apprenticeship in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Now in private practice, she continues to support Farewell clients with end-of-life planning, Christian-centered care, and family support.]()
Heather DeWire (Spring Hill, TN)
Certified Death Doula, Apprenticeship Graduate
Specialties: Administrative planning, Christian-centered death care, and family support services
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![Portrait of Heather Smith, an advanced apprentice in Unit 9 of the Farewell Fellowship program. Based in Tennessee, she specializes in patient advocacy, supports end-of-life planning as a notary public, and brings clinical experience from settings li]()
Heather Smith (Nashville, TN)
Certified Death Doula, Apprenticeship Graduate
Specialties: Patient advocacy, end-of-life planning, and hospital-based death care.
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![Portrait of Carla, a licensed grief counselor and certified death doula completing her Farewell Fellowship apprenticeship. She brings hospice and hospital-based experience, a trauma-informed approach, and a deeply intuitive, mystical presence to her]()
Carla Archuletta (Franklin, TN)
Certified Death Doula & Apprenticeship Graduate
Specialties: Grief counseling, trauma-informed death care, and hospital-based end-of-life support.
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![Portrait of Jackie Huser, a death doula apprentice in Unit 6 of the Farewell Fellowship program. With a background in marketing and event planning, she offers organized, thoughtful support for home-based end-of-life care grounded in deep listening an]()
Jackie Huser (Nashville, TN)
Certified Death Doula & Rooted Apprentice
Specialties: End-of-life planning, LGBTQIA+ inclusive death care, and in-home end-of-life support.
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![Headshot of Shelly Glascock, somatic end-of-life practitioner, smiling warmly — specializes in nervous system support and family-centered care.]()
Shelly Glascock (East Nashville, TN)
Thresholds
Specialties: Somatic support at the end of life, nervous system regulation, and compassionate family care.
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![Headshot of Casey Pisapia, Reiki practitioner and massage therapist in Brentwood, TN, smiling gently — brings 8 years of hospice experience to her therapeutic end-of-life care.]()
Casey Pisapia (Brentwood, TN)
Thresholds
Specialties: Therapeutic touch, Reiki, and compassionate hospice bedside support.
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![Headshot of Ana Quirk, licensed therapist and native Spanish speaker in Nashville, TN, offering grounded, culturally sensitive end-of-life support.]()
Ana Quirk (Nashville, TN)
Thresholds
Specialties: Culturally reverent care, Spanish-language support, and therapeutic presence at the bedside.
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![Grief doula Christine Nguyen, smiling in a field of wildflowers near Paris, offering compassionate virtual grief support in France.]()
Christine Nguyễn (Paris, France)
Foundations
Specialties: Grief support, expressive arts integration, and virtual end-of-life care in France.
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![Headshot of Jeffrey Deckman smiling, stage 4 cancer survivor, reiki master, and conscious leadership guide offering spiritual and energetic end-of-life support.]()
Jeffrey Deckman (Nashville, TN)
Thresholds
Specialties: Reiki, compassionate presence, and stage 4 cancer survivor-informed end-of-life support
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![Dr. Rachel McRoberts, PhD death doula apprentice and grief counselor in Middle Tennessee, smiling softly in a professional headshot.]()
Rachel McRoberts (Lebanon, TN)
Thresholds
Specialties: Trauma-informed grief care, child and family support, and ritual-based end-of-life services.
Have Questions?
Whether you're standing at the threshold of this work or deepening your path, I’m here to walk beside you. Reach out with your questions, curiosities, or clarities-in-progress, there’s no such thing as too small or too strange. Let’s find the right next step together.