Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification

Learn how to lead an 8-week group and guide private clients using a trauma-sensitive, mindfulness-based framework for grief support. For grief counselors, therapists, death doulas, meditation teachers, and yoga professionals ready to support grieving clients with compassion and impact.

Registration opens mid-November 2025. Waitlist members will be notified first.

Early birds save $150: Just $800 through January 30, 2025 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather.

Support others through grief with presence, compassion, and clarity

Grief changes everything. And for many people, the support available feels too clinical, too rushed, or simply unhelpful. You may already be a coach, therapist, chaplain, yoga teacher, or someone who has walked through loss yourself. You want to help, but in a way that honors grief, rather than trying to fix it.

This certification gives you a practical, trauma-informed way to hold space for grieving people, grounded in mindfulness, compassion, and cultural sensitivity. Just as importantly, it prioritizes your own wellbeing, so you can show up steady, resourced, and resilient in the work you do.

You’ll learn how to run an 8-week Mindfulness & Grief Support Group and use the same framework in private, one-on-one client work.

 Live cohort: 
February 13 - May 8, 2026 (no class March 6)
Fridays 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET 

Early-bird Tuition 
 Save $150: Just $800 until January 30, 2026

Early birds save $150: Just $800 through January 30, 2025 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather.

“When we are more firmly grounded in our bodies, as Heather Stang demonstrates, we are better able literally and metaphorically to find a new footing in the world, and to restore a life of meaning and coherence.”

Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD
Director, Portland Institute for Loss and Transition

 A complete, embodied path for grief support

In this 12-week online training program, you will get everything you need to:

  • Facilitate the 8-week Mindfulness & Grief Support Group
  • Guide private clients through the 8-step framework
  • Apply trauma-sensitive, body-aware practices
  • Build trust and safety in group and 1:1 sessions
  • Support diverse grieving styles and spiritual backgrounds
  • Integrate mindfulness and grief care into your existing work
  • Bring real self-care into your own life to build resilience against stress

Early birds save $150: Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

“Before I came into this course, I didn’t realize how important the body work is. Everything I did was from the head. Now I understand the body keeps the score. Learning to be in my body has been massive for me.”

Carol G.
Mindfulness & Grief Coaching Student

What’s included in the 12-week certification

  • Weekly on-demand videos
  • Weekly live Q&A session with Heather
  • Mediation Scripts for your clients
  • Guided Meditations for your practice
  • Facilitation guides with weekly journaling and discussion prompts for all 8 steps
  • Worksheets to help you find your voice, create your own meditations, and more
  • Community encouragement & support
  • Access to Heather via Community Messenger

But this isn’t just about learning tools to guide others....

It’s about creating space to tend to your own nervous system, your own grief, and your own sense of purpose in this work. You will learn to be an embodied facilitator who models self-care and self-compassion.

This may not be what you are used to doing. One therapist enrolled in the program reflected:

“It was hard to step away from everyone and sit still. The resistance was huge. But after just one practice, I knew. It was the best thing I’ve done in a long time. I just need to stop putting everyone else first.”

Many students say they came for the training for professional development, and only a few weeks in feel a deeper connection to their own resilience, boundaries, and well-being.

This course is as much for you as it is for your clients.

Early birds save $150:  Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

24 Meditation Scripts
Ready-to-use scripts to guide clients through each step.

33 Guided Meditations
Audio tracks for personal practice or to share with clients.

8 Facilitation Guides
Step-by-step guides to confidently lead group sessions.

12 On-Demand Courses
Watch and learn at your own pace with new videos each week.

12 Live Q&A + Training Events
Bring your questions, get support, and practice your skills.

Meet Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT

Thanatologist, yoga therapist, and author of Living With Grief, From Grief to Peace, and Navigating Loss.

Recipient of the 2025 Association for Death Education and Counseling Clinical Practice Award for Innovation in Grief Support, Heather brings over two decades of experience teaching professionals and guiding people through loss using the transformative power of mindfulness.

Her approach integrates evidence-based practices from the fields of thanatology, yoga therapy, and trauma-informed care. She has taught in hospitals, hospices, graduate classrooms, and retreat settings, and has supported thousands of grieving individuals and professionals around the world.

Heather created the Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification to empower caring professionals with the tools and presence needed to walk alongside people in pain, with compassion, humility, and heart.

Heather’s work is rooted in the belief that helping professionals can only hold space for others when they are supported themselves. This training is designed to nourish the practitioner as much as the client.

Non-death and Disenfranchised Losses

3rd edition of originally titled Mindfulness & Grief

Guided Grief Journal for All Types of Loss

French Edition of Mindfulness & Grief

“Heather Stang offers those who are grieving a wise and practical guide. The stories, teachings and meditations in [Mindfulness & Grief] will help you find your own inner strength and awakening heart in the midst of great loss.”

Tara Brach, PhD
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“Heather Stang's Navigating Loss is a valued compass for navigating a wide range of life's losses. Grieving individuals will find it both informative and full of activities and exercises to assist in coping with grief.”

Kenneth J Doka, PhD
Senior Vice-President, The Hospice Foundation of America

Early birds save $150:  Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

Featured in The Handbook of Grief Therapies

The 8-step Mindfulness & Grief System is featured in The Handbook of Grief Therapies, a respected resource for clinicians and educators. Our Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification trains you to apply these evidence-informed practices with real people in real settings so you can confidently serve as a mindfulness and grief coach.

Become a Certified Mindfulness & Grief Coach in 12 Weeks

Grief is not linear. This framework gives you a research-based, trauma-informed path to guide clients with presence and compassion. Each step provides something to teach, something to offer, and something to adapt so you can meet your clients where they truly are. Grounded in William Worden's Four Tasks of Mourning, Robert Neimeyer's Meaning Reconstruction, and ancient practices from the Buddhist and Hindu tradition, The Mindfulness & Grief System is designed to empower people to live and love even after a major loss.

Experience the full 8-week group process as a student, while learning to guide it confidently with others.

Need to see the full curriculum or get employer approval? Download the complete syllabus for the 2026 Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification, including dates, weekly topics, learning objectives, and certification requirements.

Download the Syllabus (PDF)


Mindfulness & Grief System

Develop your facilitator foundation

  • Introduction, Orientation, & Foundations
    Learn how the Mindfulness & Grief System supports you and the people you serve in real-life grief settings. You will leave with clear expectations and a simple daily practice you can keep.
  • Structure: How a Great Session Flows
    Create safer containers for grieving clients with a steady flow: intention, practice, integration, and closing. You will take away a reusable session outline, pacing skills, and your own authentic guiding voice.
  • Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Lead with Safety, Flexibility, and Compassion
    Recognize signs of dysregulation common in grief and adapt practices with clear options and consent-based language. You will build a practical plan with ready-to-use cues and modifications.
  • Integration and Certification Readiness
    Weave the tools into coherent care plans that fit real grief timelines and settings. You will finish with an integrated sample session, a personal readiness checklist, and mapped milestones for the exam and beyond.

Teach and embody the 8-Step System

  • Step 1: Conscious Relaxation
    Train focused attention and nervous-system regulation so waves of grief feel less overpowering. You will model steady presence and teach brief resets clients can use when emotions spike or sleep is hard.
  • Step 2: Mindful Awareness
    Practice noticing body, feelings, and thoughts as they arise during grief, then choose an anchor to stay here and now. You will guide short check-ins that reduce racing ahead or getting pulled into the past.
  • Step 3: Compassion for All
    Build a kinder inner tone that softens common grief reactions like self-blame, guilt, or “shoulds.” You will teach simple phrases and micro-practices that reduce harsh self-talk and increase care.
  • Step 4: Skillful Courage
    Approach painful memories and emotions in small, manageable steps and pause when needed. You will coach pacing and choice so clients face grief safely without overwhelm.
  • Step 5: Getting Unstuck
    Identify grief loops such as rumination, avoidance, or decision paralysis, then try small, doable actions. You will help clients experiment and adjust to create gentle forward movement.
  • Step 6: Continuing Bonds
    Support healthy connection with the person who died through memory, ritual, and meaning that fit daily life. You will offer options that honor love and ease the ache of absence.
  • Step 7: Allowing Transformation
    Notice how loss reshapes values, roles, and identity over time. You will help clients name what matters now and choose one next step that reflects who they are becoming.
  • Step 8: Meaning and Purpose
    Bring all the tools together into routines that support life after loss. You will clarify commitments and supports that help clients sustain healing and you to teach with confidence.

Early birds save $150:  Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

“....I’m learning to give myself grace. This week was one of my best sessions yet. I was prepared, grounded, and my buddy told me she felt empowered to make her own choices. That felt amazing.”

Julia R.
Mindfulness & Grief Coaching Student

If you're called to guide others through loss, you're in the right place

You understand that grief isn’t a choice, and you know that how we show up to meet it can change everything. You believe healing comes not from fixing, but from presence. You’re drawn to this work because you’ve seen how mindfulness can create space for transformation, even in the midst of sorrow. And you know that taking care of yourself is not a luxury. 

This training is designed for:

  • Grief Counselors
  • Social workers
  • Chaplains
  • Psychotherapists
  • Hospice workers/volunteers
  • Bereavement coordinators
  • Death doulas
  • Spiritual directors
  • Community leaders
  • End-of-life volunteers
  • Somatic practitioners
  • Meditation teachers
  • Yoga teachers
  • Yoga therapists
  • Bodyworkers
  • Trauma therapists
  • Life coaches
  • Grief coaches
  • Mental health educators
  • Wellness practitioners
  • Licensed professional counselors

You don’t need to be a licensed therapist. What matters most is your willingness to show up with care, learn the tools, and hold space with integrity. This certification does not grant a therapy license or board certification, and all graduates agree to practice within their professional scope.

Early birds save $150:  Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

Heather Stang does a wonderful job weaving the evidence-based/research-informed current thinking about loss and grief with very relatable stories and practical tools to cope with and adapt to life’s unwelcome changes.

Darcy Harris, PhD, FT
Professor and Thanatology Department Faculty Member of King’s University College in London, Canada

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer scholarships?
We do not have scholarships available at this time, however you set up a payment plan, or team up with a friend or colleague for a group discount.

What are the group discounts?
Yes! Please email [email protected] to inquire

Early-bird Pricing: $800 per individual

  • 2 people: 10% off ($720 per person)
  • 3–5 people: 15% off ($680 per person)
  • 6 or more: 20% off ($640 per person)

After Early-bird Pricing: $950 per individual

  • 2 people: 10% off ($855 per person)
  • 3–5 people: 15% off ($807 per person)
  • 6 or more: 20% off ($760per person)

Do you offer a payment plan or refunds?
A payment plan is available. Please email [email protected].

Who is this for?
Therapists, coaches, chaplains, funeral directors, bereavement specialists, and yoga or meditation teachers who support grieving people. Helpers in hospice and community care are welcome.

Do I need to be a therapist to enroll?
No. You need experience working with people and a commitment to practice within your scope.

Will this make me a therapist?
No. This certification does not grant a therapy license. You agree to practice within your professional scope.

Is this trauma-informed and non-pathologizing?
Yes. We teach skills that honor grief as a human experience. No stages. No forced timelines.

How much time should I plan each week?

  • Weekly: about 3 hours total — 30 minutes of training video, 60 minutes of practice with a client/friend/colleague, and 90 minutes for the live Q&A (recorded if you miss it)
  • Daily: 15 minutes minimum — 10 for meditation; 5 minutes a day for journaling; optional reading of relevant books or longer practices not included

Do I have to attend live?
Live is encouraged, but not required. Replays post in Circle within 24 hours, so you will not fall behind.

How do I access Zoom and the materials?
Everything is in our private Circle community. The Events tab has dates and Zoom. Course Materials has audios, scripts, prompts, and replays.

What will I get each week?
Three guided meditation audio.  Three client-ready script. A short in-the-moment practice. A journaling prompt. The session replay. Time with your cohort!

Do I need to practice daily?
Aim for most days. The idea is to transform your life too, not just learn the material. 

How do I earn the certification?
Complete the 12-week training. Pass the online assessment with a score of 80% or higher within three months of your cohort’s final class. Agree to ethics, scope of practice, and privacy. If you do not pass on the first try, you may retake twice within that three-month window.

Do you offer CE credits?
No. CE credits are not offered.

Can I use the materials with clients?
Yes. You can use scripts, worksheets, and prompts with attribution. Stay within your professional scope.

Is the program accessible?
Zoom captions are on. Replays are available. Materials are provided in readable formats. Tell me what you need and I will do my best to support it.

What tech do I need?
A Circle account, Zoom, reliable internet, and headphones or speakers.

Can I take this if I am grieving too?
Maybe. This is a professional training with an assessment, not a grief support group. If you can focus for class and practice a little most days, you’ll do fine. If you need dedicated support right now, join Awaken or book a private session. If you’re unsure, book a quick discovery call.

What happens after I enroll?
You receive a Circle invite, add the dates from Events, and find your Week 1 materials in Course Materials. Say hello in the Welcome post.


Sign Up Now or Ask A Question

You’re welcome to reach out directly or book a free discovery call with Heather. Whether you’re brand new to grief coaching or looking to deepen your current work, we’ll help you find out if this certification is the right next step.

Early birds save $150:  Just $800 through January 30, 2026 (regularly $950).
Payment plans and group discounts available. Questions? Meet with Heather

Acceptance in the mindful context means that even when the unthinkable happens, we honor our self and our experience with dignity and kindness. Rather than turn our back on our own suffering, we treat ourselves as we would a beloved friend. We take the time to pay attention to the physical sensations, thoughts, and feelings that accompany our pain.

Heather Stang
Living With Grief, p. 15