You’ve taken an end-of-life doula course (or maybe a few!)

But somehow you’re still wondering

What Now?

How does a 6-week, brass-tacks business course for end-of-life doulas sound?

Created for for emerging end-of-life doulas who are ready to move from learning to doing, this course will help you develop a clear, grounded, ethical practice.

Over six weeks, you’ll put the right pieces in place so you can bring your gifts to the world with confidence.

The first cohort begins May 7th

6 live weekly classes:

Thursdays: May 7- June 18

5:00–7:00 PM Pacific Time


(All sessions are recorded so you can review them or catch up if you miss one)

I want in!
I want in!

Welcome to What Now:

This is a different kind of business course, for a different kind of business.

Running a small business in an unregulated field has unique challenges. When you add the fact that your business is focused on the one thing everyone will eventually experience, but very few people actually want to talk about, it’s even more challenging!

What now will help you clarify your vision, define your offerings, create sustainable structures, and grow a practice that feels practical, aligned, and flexible enough to grow as you continue to grow in this field.

Whether you studied within the Death’s Apprentice curriculum or began your doula journey elsewhere, this course is here to help you bridge the gap between completing a doula training program and actually building a practice.

This course is intentionally practical.

Yes, we will spend time on the big questions: who you are in this work, who you want to serve, and what kind of practice actually fits your life. But we will also get our hands dirty. You will be asked to make decisions, draft real materials, and begin building the bones of your practice.

This is hard work. It’s heart-work too. But we aren’t going to be dreaming, we’re going to be doing. We’ll use a combination of improvisational business

Not the dreaming. The doing. Especially when doing means becoming more visible, naming your boundaries, setting prices, or putting imperfect first drafts on paper. This course is built to support that part too: not by pushing you into performative action, but by helping you take real steps in a thoughtful, steady, well-held way.

WHO THIS IS FOR

WHAT NOW is for emerging end-of-life doulas who have already completed foundational training and are asking:

  • How do I take what I’ve learned and turn it into actual services?

  • What do I offer, and how do I describe it?

  • How do I price this work fairly and sustainably?

  • What policies and formal structures do I need?

  • How do I start getting my offerings seen in a way that feels honest, aligned, and doesn’t rely on AI-generated generic ad campaigns?

  • What concrete steps do I need to take to bring my deathwork into the world?

THIS COURSE IS OPEN TO…

  • people who have completed Prep School for Doulas

  • people who have completed The Doula Foundation Intensive

  • people who have completed both

  • doulas who have trained elsewhere and can demonstrate they’ve completed a foundational doula training

What you’ll leave with

By the end of the 6 weeks, you will have:

  • clarity about the practice you are building

  • language for your work that feels true to you, and makes sense to others

  • draft services shaped by your strengths, your values, and the people you most want to support

  • starter pricing, policies, and boundaries you can stand behind

  • a simple, usable map of the client journey

  • a realistic plan for being visible in ways that feel doable and aligned

  • practical systems and grounded next steps to help you begin

“I so appreciate being able to learn from Christa’s hard work and experience. As a fellow funeral director and death doula, I see her trailblazing a route that allows others like me to walk (and run) with more ease! Thank you Christa, for all the work you are doing to shine a light on the value of the death care industry and how we can do things better“

Kara K, Mentee and previous ACP client

WHAT’S INCLUDED

  • 6 live weekly classes
     Thursdays, 5:00–7:00 PM PST

  • First cohort begins May 7, 2026

  • Invitation-only WhatsApp group
     For support, connection, and encouragement between sessions, with ongoing access

  • 2 private 1:1 mentoring sessions with Christa
     To be used anytime within one year of registration

  • Weekly co-working sessions (drop in)

  • 1 year access to special recorded business webinars
     Plus the option to attend live when offered

  • Curated resources and practical tools
     Including guided worksheets, implementation prompts, and step-by-step support to help you build your practice with clarity

This course is designed to feel structured but spacious.

During the 6 weeks, you’ll receive:

  • one live 2-hour class each week

  • your choice of office hours, weekly drop-in sessions

  • WhatsApp support between classes

  • practical implementation prompts and weekly action steps

  • hands-on practical guidance, structure, and support

Beyond the 6 weeks, you’ll continue to have:

  • ongoing access to the WhatsApp group

  • two private mentoring sessions

  • one year of webinar access for continued business learning and support

The 6-week outline

Week 1: Your Vision, Your Clients: Mapping your ideal client journey

Get clear on the heart of your practice, who you serve, and how clients move from first hearing about you to reaching out for support.


Week 2: Mission, Messaging, and Brand Voice

Put grounded language around your work so people can understand what you do, who you help, and how you want to show up.


Week 3: Service Frameworks and Offer Design

Explore the kinds of services you want to offer and begin shaping practical, aligned offerings that fit your skills, values, and capacity.


Week 4: Boundaries, Pricing, Policies, and Scope

Create the structures that protect your time, support your sustainability, and help clients understand what working with you looks like.


Week 5: Visibility, Referrals, and Relationship-Based Marketing

Learn simple, honest ways to be seen, build trust, and connect with the people and organizations who may refer clients your way.


Week 6: Systems, Sustainability, and Next Steps

Bring it all together with the systems, priorities, and practical next steps needed to begin offering your services with confidence.

SO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN “WHAT NOW”?

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN

WHAT NOW: May 2026 registration opening soon

ALL classes are recorded so you won’t miss a thing if you have a schedule conflict during our time together.

We’ll move quickly and GET THINGS DONE so you can iterate and test your ideas. It’s going to feel great to go from “I’d like to do this” to “I’m really doing this!”

Sign me up
Sign me up

“Christa is an outsanding educator with deep knowledge and the ability to deliver complex material in engaging ways”

Lorraine A, United Church Minister, Bowen Death Collective founding member

I’M CHRISTA

I’m not what you might picture when you think of a funeral director/embalmer.

I believe that connection, compassion, and creativity are key to living well, and to dying well.

I’ve sat at bedsides, in boardrooms, and in Zoom rooms with people from all walks of life, helping them think about, talk about, and plan for the hardest parts of being human.

I’ve built a successful end-of-life doula business from scratch (seriously, I used to be a college principal, I’m not sure if you can get further from death-work than that!) I’m a “figure things out as I go” kind of person, always iterating, often improvising, and every once in a while, really messing up!

I believe that rising tides float ALL boats and that there is no place for gatekeeping in this emerging field.

What Now is my way of sharing what I’ve learned so far in building a business as an end-of-life doula.

I’d love to have you in the next cohort. If you have questions, you can always email me and we can set up a time to get them answered.

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN WHAT NOW?

Your tuition includes:

  • 6 live weekly classes

  • Invitation-only WhatsApp group

  • 2 private 1:1 mentoring sessions with Christa

  • 1 year access to special recorded business webinars

  • Curated resources and practical tools

Register now
Register now

Pricing

$675 + GST — for doulas trained elsewhere

$525 + GST — for those who have completed one Death’s Apprentice foundation course*

$425 + GST — for those who have completed both foundation courses*

If you’ve studied with Death’s Apprentice, please reach out for the discount codes

  • “This is without doubt the most valuable course I have EVER taken. (I have a Ph.D. so I have taken a LOT of courses!). The course is skillfully designed with a fine balance between the pure information content with the more emotional pieces, paced in weekly sessions with time to zero in on homework (not onerous) between classes. ”

    — A. Henderson, Prep School Graduate

  • “The 5 part course exceeded all my expectations. I have often shelved the idea of thinking of my own death or disability, but Christa’s simplified approach to writing Wills, Representation Agreements, Power of Attorney, and thinking of my own funeral/memorial based on a value driven reflection helped to demystify this often overwhelming paperwork. Rather than being paralyzed by this decision making, Prep School provided opportunities for learning and reflection and then focussed my attention on a step-by-step methodology that had me finishing the course with a much clearer vision of how all of the end of life pieces fit together”

    — N. Ninnow, Prep School Graduate

  • “Being asked to consider circumstances that may arise, such as an unexpected death or an event that would make one unable to make their own medical decision, created an opportunity to ponder what being “alive” means to each of us and in turn to hone in on personal hopes, values and wishes. Taking care of my end of life ‘story’, (although framed in mystery and unknowing), offers me an opportunity to give a gift of enduring love to my family and friends- the people I cherish the most in this lifetime. Thank you, Christa”

    — B. Hornby, Prep School Graduate

  • I feel such relief after taking Prep School!

    I thought my husband and I had done a good job getting our estate in order, but I realized during the course that there was still a lot of work to do, especially because our goal is to not be a burden on our kids when we pass.

    Completing some of this paperwork was both harder and easier than I had imagined. Harder because there were a number of questions that I had never considered, especially around the topic of medical incapacitation. Easier because we were given lots of different tools to help us complete the tasks.

    Anyone who is serious about making the role of an appointed medical representative or executor easier needs to take this course!

    T. Underwood, , Prep School Graduate

  • I did the Prep School Bootcamp and it was a fantastic experience! Christa is a wonderful person who makes the overwhelming process of getting your affairs in order, as it were, into a meaningful and deep reflexive moment. She fosters a positive environment that allows participants to feel comfortable to share things and ask questions. She takes checklists and works with them as prompts that will lead to meaningful reflection that is essential when working through your advance care planning holistically.

    —A. Garcia, , Prep School Graduate

  • The Prep School program provided a personalized and guided step-by-step process for addressing the important details related to putting my affairs in order. The combination of work-book, resources, course participants, and, in particular, an incredibly supportive and experienced educator - Christa Ovenell - meant that I was able to accomplish what would normally be an extremely difficult task, within a short period of time and in an engaging and affirming manner. I highly recommend Prep School and Christa Ovenell (the Death's Apprentice)!

    —S. Barclay, Prep School Graduate

Still have questions?

  • Short answer: it’s better if you do, but the sessions are recorded so if you miss something, you won’t truly miss it. But you should approach this like any other class you want to get something out of. What you put in will vastly influence what you get out!

  • You need to be an emerging doula to come to Prep School for Doula. It’s a GREAT way to start your doula education. If you just want to do your own ACP, join regular Prep School!

  • If ANYONE is reading this who needs a payment plan: reach out. Send me an email to hello@deathsapprentice.ca and we will build a payment plan that works just for you.

  • It absolutely will be. One of the biggest complaints of standard Doula courses is that there is not a deep enough exploration of how to teach advance care planning. You’ll get that here!

  • There is literally no such thing as a certified doula. There is no standardized accreditation body or College that oversees Doula training. However, I am a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and I have been practicing in this field since 2018. I am a NEDA Proficient Doula, and I have a Master of Education and a speciality in Adult Education. I am confident this course will be accepted as continuing education credits for doulas and other professionals.

  • That’s why there are recordings!

  • No. It will be waiting for you when you when you’re ready though. I promise you that. And if i can help you in any way, please know I’m always available to guide you and offer support.

  • There are many costs associated with starting and running a business. Part of the program is helping you get clear on what you’ll need to spend now, and what can wait. I have been very frugal with my own business building, and I’ll likely pass that ethos on to you…but trust me, there will likely be times that you’ll have to spend money you feel like you don’t have as you take the first steps in building your Doula business.

Sign me up
Sign me up

Are you feeling “on the fence”?

I completely understand. This is a business decision that is quite literally about life and death after all!

LET’S HAVE A CONVERSATION TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

book a call
book a call