Interested in Death, Dying, Grief and Loss?

Start here! We offer education in Thanatology, Thanabotany™ and Deathwork so more people like you can expand personally and professionally.

 

Deathwork is for Everyone

The School of American Thanatology provides inclusive and accessible educational opportunities in and adjacent to the fields of thanatology, deathwork and thanabotany™ while also fostering research and writing opportunities for our community.

Questions you may have

Who should enroll?

We welcome all curious spirits, no matter where you are on your journey. Our courses are designed for anyone ready to expand personally and professionally through thanatology, deathwork and thanabotany™.

How is this school different?

The School of American Thanatology is not your traditional academic institution. Our courses go deep and are designed to integrate the emotional needs of our students. It’s important to us that all of our students feel safe to show up as their true selves so they can connect with other deathworkers and support each other, virtually & locally.

Visit our FAQ page for more

 

Meet our Educators

  • Cole Imperi

    Cole Imperi

    FOUNDER

  • Suzette Martinez Standring

    INSTRUCTOR, WRITING: DEATH & SPIRITUALITY

 

Words from our graduates:

I feel empowered and supported in a way that I can say with conviction that I have never experienced before now.  I was always a person that would avoid confrontation of all types at all costs.  I now feel educated and empowered enough to volunteer my help and resources with much less anxiety of how it will be received and perceived by others.

Another thing is understanding the importance of community. I really did plan to do this on my own. I like working on my own and counting on myself. But Cole really challenged that idea—specifically when it comes to accountability and having someone to mirror/challenge you.

The biggest thing that changed for me was the ability to discern where I want to work in the spectrum of deathwork and what I was able TO DO and NOT DO in this work. Before this course, I felt spread in all different directions and it caused a lot of anxiety which resulted in lack of confidence. The comfort that knowing I had a space and that it didn’t have to be the whole spectrum of deathwork afforded me clarity and peace of mind in my mission and purpose. My knowledge, resources and support have grown tremendously since taking this course and I will forever be grateful for it and the experience while immersed in it. I will continue to seek out opportunities, like this one, to further my education and build a more robust and close community in deathcare.

I loved that Cole really helped participants affirm who they are in the course. Being empowered by someone to call ourselves “companions, death educators, etc” is empowering. It felt that in some ways I was giving us permission to blossom into our uniqueness. I left my previous training with an idea of who I thought I was in relation to death work, but in some ways it felt like there was one way of doing the work. I got a lot from my previous training, but this course took what I learned there to the next level.

One big thing that changed for me over the course was that I felt the pathway forward into death companioning become clearer, and I feel I am one step closer towards doing the work I feel most called to. Thank you so much!