This program is designed for anyone who wants to learn the strategies and techniques to help people in grief.

Many people who have asked for this training include mental health professionals, counselors, therapists, hospice workers, clergy, life coaches, funeral services, cemetery professionals.

Learn the essential tools to start or complement your existing work, grief support group, mental health, or your private practice.

Experience is often life's greatest teacher. If your heart is leading you to guide others in grief, this is a perfect foundation and training.

The program is appropriate for all educational backgrounds and will give you a strong foundation on grief education.

We understand that even within professional degree programs that are dedicated to helping others, grief is sparsely and incompletely covered, and yet, we see the profound and lasting impact that grief can have on people.

Learn the essential tools to start or complement your existing grief support group, mental health, or life coaching business.

This training was created with your schedule in mind. We know the value of spending some time with the teaching to process it each week.

This is a comprehensive, experiential program and will require a commitment of your energy as well as time. 

During the 3-month certification process, we'll meet weekly for a 1-hour teaching session and a 90-minute lab.

You'll also be asked to do some simple but powerful homework assignments. You should plan on devoting 3-hours a week to completing the certification. 

The grief educator certificate program was designed to be intensive workshop-style training that is made up of a weekly teaching session and an interactive lab.

We ask that you do your best to make one of the interactive lab sessions each week. (There are 3 lab options for your convenience.) If you have to skip one, we will offer a make-up lab at the end of the program.

The weekly teaching session will be recorded and posted on your training site. While we would love to see you there in person, you can always catch the replay if the timing doesn't work for you.

This Certification Training will take place from April 1, 2025 - June 17, 2025

Join the live 60-minute Teachings on Tuesdays at 12 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET or catch the replay

Weekly Labs

Each week, you will be asked to choose one of the following 90-minute interactive labs to attend, ask questions, and get the practical training you need to guide others confidently.

Wednesday 6:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm ET

Thursday 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET

Saturday 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET

Makeup labs will be available if you need to miss a few.

Experience is a great teacher. We have seen so many people turn their pain into purpose by leading others through grief. While this is not a place to focus on your own healing, the wisdom you bring to this training and to those you serve will be an asset.

No, however, some professionals have shared that they expense the cost of this program as a business expense, but always check with your accountant or CPA for accurate information for your situation and location.

The Grief Educator Certification Program trains people from around the world to help others in grief. We are cognizant of the disparity in economic realities that can impact communities

We are pleased to be able to offer a select number of needs-based scholarships and reduced-fee (50%) registration opportunities.

Our mission is to empower and train others to go out into their communities to help others navigate the rocky terrain of grief and we are so grateful for all of our grief educators for the work they are doing.

We are now accepting needs-based applications for our 2025 scholarship program.

If the investment in the Grief Education Certification program isn’t financially possible for you at this time and you believe that this program would be helpful to you and your community, let us know.

We will be accepting applications until March 21st at 11 pm PT and we will let recipients know by March 28th.

Email us at [email protected] for the details

We try to keep things simple here to focus on the training and not the tech. We'll meet via Zoom. For the labs, it would be ideal if you can join from a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a camera.

The teaching platform is user-friendly and the videos are available to view from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

A Grief Educator Certification from David Kessler and Grief.com will give you and the people you work with confidence knowing that you have the tools you need to effectively help people recover from the pain of loss and remember with more love than pain.

You will have the solid foundation and real-world knowledge you need to help people in grief and get life-changing results.

This is a perfect addition to your training as a therapist, counselor, psychologist, chaplain, social worker.

And if you're just starting out helping people in grief, this is a solid and comprehensive foundation.

People who completed the Grief Educator certification last year use their training to see private clients, lead grief groups, supplement their professional training, and work in hospice and other grief and end-of-life care settings. We also had participants who were art therapists, equestrian therapists, working with incarcerated people, clergy members, physicians, health care workers, school counselors and administrators, and from so many other fields. The Grief Educator Certification helped them serve their clients in grief more holistically.

You will also be eligible to have a personal listing on Grief.com as a Certified Grief Educator.