Centre for Supportive Palliative Education

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Centre for Supportive Palliative Education Professional training in specialized, non-medical palliative care.

Community education for those supporting individuals and families through illness, dying, and grief.

What if part of me just wants this to be over?It's one of those thoughts people don't always feel they are allowed to ha...
06/10/2026

What if part of me just wants this to be over?

It's one of those thoughts people don't always feel they are allowed to have when someone they love is seriously ill or dying.

Because the moment we think it, we may hear something else:
What kind of person thinks that?
But I think there is a more useful question:
What do we mean by “this”?
The suffering?
The uncertainty?
The exhaustion?
The sleepless nights?
The caregiving?
Watching someone we love decline?

The feeling that the rest of life has been suspended while we try to manage something we cannot control?
Sometimes we can desperately want someone to live and also desperately want what everyone is going through to end.

Those feelings can live together.

Tomorrow at the Centre for Supportive Palliative Education, we're opening our fall Wednesday Webinar series with this very question:
What If Part of Me Just Wants This to Be Over?

We'll spend an hour exploring caregiver exhaustion, anticipatory grief, relief and guilt, and what difficult thoughts may be telling us about what we are carrying.

You don't need to know anything about palliative care. You don't have to tell your story. You are welcome simply to come and listen.

Wednesday, October 7
12:00–1:00 PM MT
Free · Live online
Cameras and personal sharing are optional.
Registration: www.palliativecaretraining.ca

What does it actually mean to “be there” when someone is dying?We often imagine that we should know what to say or do.Bu...
05/10/2026

What does it actually mean to “be there” when someone is dying?

We often imagine that we should know what to say or do.
But much of being with someone at the end of life is remarkably ordinary.

Sitting nearby. Making tea. Listening to the same story again.
Helping someone get comfortable. Letting silence be silence.
Knowing when conversation is welcome and when it isn’t.

Giving family members a chance to leave the room, sleep, shower or simply breathe.

And sometimes being present means tolerating the uncomfortable feeling that there is nothing we can do to change what is happening.

That can be one of the hardest parts.

We are accustomed to helping by solving, fixing and doing. Dying asks something different of us.

It asks us to learn how to accompany.

Presence doesn’t make dying easy. Sadness, uncertainty and fear can all belong there.

So can connection, tenderness, laughter, memory, meaning and moments that look surprisingly like ordinary life.

Perhaps being there isn’t about knowing exactly what to do and maybe it begins with learning that our presence itself can be part of the care.

These are the kinds of things we talk about at CSPE Wednesday Webinars — practical, thoughtful conversations about serious illness, caregiving, dying, death and grief.

Wednesday Webinars have started, next one is noon on October 7th, register at www.palliativecaretraining.ca

“Passed away.” “Lost.” “No longer with us.”These words can hold tenderness, faith and family meaning. Sometimes, though,...
04/10/2026

“Passed away.” “Lost.” “No longer with us.”

These words can hold tenderness, faith and family meaning. Sometimes, though, we reach for them because saying died feels almost too direct.

The words we choose are personal. What matters is having enough room to speak clearly when clarity helps: to ask what someone wants, to talk about comfort, or to understand what is happening as a person approaches death.

We can have those conversations in our ordinary voices. We can be thoughtful, practical, uncertain, loving and occasionally funny. We can talk about mortality and still make dinner, plan a trip or enjoy a ridiculous television show.

Death belongs in the conversation about life.

Perhaps we can begin by making it a little easier to say the word.

This is part of the work of the Centre for Supportive Palliative Education.

CSPE offers opportunities to learn about the experiences that can accompany serious illness, caregiving, dying, death, grief and bereavement — and to become more prepared for conversations many of us eventually find ourselves having.

Some of that learning is practical. What happens when someone is dying? What can families expect? What can we say? What decisions may need to be made?

And some of it takes us into the human complexity surrounding these experiences: relationships, old hurts, family dynamics, disagreement, uncertainty, love, responsibility and the different ways people respond when life becomes vulnerable.

Two live online courses are coming this November:

When Someone Is Dying and the Relationship Is Complicated
November 5 & 12 | 7:30–9:00 PM Mountain Time

How Can We Get Along When Someone We Love Is Dying?
November 19 & 26 | 7:30–9:00 PM Mountain Time

Both are two-session courses and include limited-time access to the recordings and a certificate of completion.

More CSPE webinars, courses and learning opportunities will be coming as we continue building education for individuals, families, communities and those who support others through these experiences.

You don’t have to wait until someone is dying to begin learning how to talk about death.

Sometimes learning a little earlier gives us more room when the conversation becomes our own.

Some questions feel difficult to say aloud when someone we love is dying, relationships are complicated, or we are findi...
02/10/2026

Some questions feel difficult to say aloud when someone we love is dying, relationships are complicated, or we are finding our way through grief.

There is room for these conversations.

This fall, join us for free Wednesday webinars, two-part live online courses, and our six-week Grief Literacy & Integration program.

Whether you are accompanying someone now or hoping to feel more prepared for the future, you are warmly welcome.

Browse the fall lineup...

Details and registration: www.palliativecaretraining.ca

One day, you may get a call: “Can you come?”Someone you love is in the hospital. Their condition has changed. The family...
01/10/2026

One day, you may get a call: “Can you come?”

Someone you love is in the hospital. Their condition has changed. The family is gathering, and you find yourself becoming the person who asks questions, makes calls, sits beside the bed or remembers what was said when everyone else is overwhelmed.

You may also be frightened. You may need a break. You may wonder whether what you are doing is helping.

Many of us will be someone’s person during serious illness or dying. We bring our love and our history with them. We can bring some knowledge, too: what changes might happen, what questions to ask, what may offer comfort and where to turn when we need support.

There is no way to prepare for exactly how it will feel. Learning a little beforehand can help us find our footing when someone needs us.

And someday, we may need someone who knows a little, too.

If this brings someone to mind, our fall intensives and grief recovery course offer space to explore these experiences with care.

You’re warmly welcome to take a look, whether you’re learning ahead of time or finding your way through something now.

www.palliativecaretraining.ca

You may know more about giving birth than you know about dying.Even if you've never given birth or been present for one....
30/09/2026

You may know more about giving birth than you know about dying.

Even if you've never given birth or been present for one. That's remarkable when you think about it.

Birth knowledge has become part of everyday culture. We hear birth stories. We see birth portrayed on television.

People attend prenatal classes. They read books. They make plans. They ask questions.

We understand that preparation cannot guarantee how a birth will unfold but we prepare anyway.

Death is different.

Many people reach their first significant experience of dying with very little understanding of what they are about to encounter. And then they learn quickly.

What does that change mean? Is this normal? Should they still be eating? Why are they sleeping so much? What does that breathing mean? Should I say something? Can they hear me? What happens next?

There are healthcare professionals who can guide us through these questions when the time comes.

But perhaps we don't need every question to be brand new when someone we love is dying. We can learn some of this beforehand.

This fall, the Centre for Supportive Palliative Education (CSPE) is offering courses and free Wednesday webinars exploring dying, grief, and accompanying someone you love—including when relationships are complicated or families find it difficult to get along.

Whether you are supporting someone now or wish to feel more prepared for the future, you are warmly invited to take part. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and whatever experience you already carry.

Explore the fall courses and webinars here: www.palliativecaretraining.ca/CSPE-Fall-Courses

At the bedside, someone may ask the nurse about a change in breathing. Then they may turn to their sister and ask, “Do y...
29/09/2026

At the bedside, someone may ask the nurse about a change in breathing. Then they may turn to their sister and ask, “Do you think Mom knows we’re here?”

Both questions matter.

Good medical care can relieve symptoms, offer comfort and help families understand what is happening in the body. At the same time, people are remembering a life together, navigating relationships, wondering what to say and trying to find their place in the room.

Families can learn about this part of dying, too. They can learn what changes they may see, when to ask for help, how grief can begin before death, and what it might mean to be present with someone they love.

Healthcare professionals bring essential knowledge. Families bring knowledge of the person, their history and what matters to them. With support, they can feel more able to take part in this deeply human experience.

Death belongs to medicine and it belongs to the rest of us, too.

Join us this fall for our FREE Wednesday Webinars, taking place every second Wednesday from 12 - 1 PM MT. The first once starts October 7th, to get more information/register: https://www.palliativecaretraining.ca/CSPE-Wednesday-Webinars

“I’ll think about death when I’m older.”A reasonable plan, except death has never announced an age requirement. And when...
28/09/2026

“I’ll think about death when I’m older.”

A reasonable plan, except death has never announced an age requirement. And when someone we love is dying, we may be tired, frightened, grieving and trying to support everyone else. It’s a rather inconvenient time to begin learning the entire subject.

We humans are wonderfully creative when a topic makes us uncomfortable. We can come up with enough reasons to put off thinking about death to fill a carousel. Some are even quite funny. Underneath them, though, may be fear, family habits or the sense that talking about death will somehow bring it closer.

It won’t.

We can begin with a little curiosity. What might dying look like? What questions could we ask? Where could we turn for support? How might we stay with someone through a difficult time?

We don’t have to be ready to think about everything. Learning one useful thing is a good place to start.

Which excuse have you caught yourself using? I think most of us have had at least one. 🙂

and.....stay tuned for opportunities to learn more about all things end of life related, online with other people just to make the thought about it more engaging. 🙂

Most of us learn about dying when someone we love is already dying.Suddenly, there are changes we don’t understand, conv...
24/09/2026

Most of us learn about dying when someone we love is already dying.

Suddenly, there are changes we don’t understand, conversations we’re afraid to begin, and decisions we never imagined we would face. We may find ourselves wondering, “Is this normal? Am I doing enough? Who can I ask?”

There are things we can learn before that moment.

We can learn what dying may look like, how grief can begin before a death, and how to be present when there is nothing we can fix. We can learn where to turn for support, and how to care for ourselves while caring for someone else.

Knowledge cannot take away the sadness of losing someone. It can help us feel less alone with what is unfamiliar.

We prepare for so many parts of life. We can prepare for this part, too.

You don’t have to wait until someone is dying to begin learning about death.

What do you wish you had known sooner?

Stay tuned....learning opportunities opening soon...

One thing many families discover at end of life:these moments often bring forward the deepest parts of being human.Love....
21/05/2026

One thing many families discover at end of life:

these moments often bring forward the deepest parts of being human.

Love.
Grief.
Connection.
Reflection.
Responsibility.
Tenderness.
Meaning.

Our upcoming May 30th session through the creates space for thoughtful conversation and compassionate education around the emotional and relational realities of end of life.

www.palliativecaretraining.ca

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