CSPE Fall Immersive

Is This Dying?

Understanding What Happens as the Body Begins to Change

When someone is seriously ill, even a small change can raise a frightening question:

Is this person beginning to die?

Families may notice changes in eating, sleeping, energy, awareness, breathing, communication or interest in the world around them. They may receive different messages from different people or struggle to find language for what they are seeing.

This two-part live online course offers a clear and compassionate introduction to the changes that may occur as a person approaches the end of life—and to the human experience of living alongside those changes.

Course schedule

Thursdays, October 22 and 29, 2026
7:30–9:00 PM Mountain Time
Two live online sessions

Tuition

$179 CAD

Course Details

Many people arrive at the final weeks or days of someone’s life with little preparation for what they may see.

Uncertainty can make every change feel alarming. Family members may wonder whether they should call someone, encourage more food, keep the person awake, continue ordinary routines or begin preparing for death.

Greater understanding can help people:

• Recognize that the body may be changing
• Develop clearer questions for the healthcare team
• Respond with greater steadiness
• Communicate more openly with family members
• Prepare emotionally and practically
• Remain connected to the person who is dying

Understanding cannot remove the difficulty of the experience. It can help people meet it with greater clarity and confidence.

What we will explore

Session One — Recognizing Change

The first session introduces common patterns that may appear when serious illness progresses and the body begins moving toward the end of life.

We will explore:

• Why it can be difficult to recognize when dying may be approaching
• Changes in energy, sleep and engagement
• Changes in eating and drinking
• Changes in awareness and communication
• Changes in breathing and physical capacity
• The difference between observing a change and interpreting what it means
• Questions families can bring to the healthcare team
• How uncertainty affects the nervous system and family decision-making

The aim is to develop a more grounded way of noticing, asking and responding.

Session Two — Living Alongside What Is Happening

The second session turns toward the relational and emotional experience of accompanying someone whose body is changing.

We will explore:

• How family members may respond differently to the same changes
• The impulse to fix, persuade or restore what is changing
• Food, hydration and the meaning families may attach to them
• Staying connected as communication changes
• Speaking with children and other family members
• Preparing for what may come next
• Supporting the dying person’s comfort, dignity and preferences
• Remaining present while holding uncertainty

Participants will also have space to bring forward general questions arising from the first session.

Who is this course for?

This course may be helpful for:

• Family members and friends of someone living with serious illness
• Caregivers noticing changes in someone they support
• People preparing for a possible death
• Hospice and community volunteers
• End-of-life doulas and other non-medical support people
• Massage therapists, wellness practitioners and helping professionals
• Anyone wanting a clearer understanding of the dying process

Previous healthcare or end-of-life education is unnecessary.

What this course offers

Participants will leave with:

• A clearer framework for noticing change
• Greater familiarity with patterns that may occur near the end of life
• Language for speaking with family members and healthcare providers
• A deeper understanding of common emotional responses
• Practical questions to consider when circumstances change
• Greater confidence in remaining present during uncertainty

Recording access

Registered participants will receive access to recordings of both teaching sessions.

Recordings will remain available until November 5, 2026.

Participants may attend live, use the recordings for review or complete the course through a combination of live attendance and recording access.

Recordings are provided for registered participants and may not be shared, copied or distributed. 

Educational scope

This course provides general education about dying and end-of-life experiences within CSPE’s non-medical scope.

Individual symptoms and changes can have many causes. Questions about a particular person’s condition, prognosis, medication, nutrition, hydration or medical care belong with the person’s qualified healthcare providers.

The course supports participants in understanding what they are observing, communicating more clearly and participating thoughtfully in the wider circle of support.

About CSPE

The Centre for Supportive Palliative Education offers accessible education about grief, caregiving, serious illness, dying, death and bereavement.

CSPE creates learning spaces where difficult subjects can be approached with clarity, warmth and humanity.

Registration

Is This Dying?
Understanding What Happens as the Body Begins to Change

October 22 and 29, 2026
Thursdays, 7:30–9:00 PM Mountain Time
Two live online sessions

Tuition: $179 CAD

Tuition is paid in full at registration.

Registration closes on October 20th.

After this date, please contact CSPE directly to ask about remaining space and late registration.