Course Description

Perhaps the most heart-wrenching and challenging aspect of your work is when a baby dies. Parents and families need your calm competence and compassionate support more than ever. And you may wonder:


  • What are the main ingredients of quality perinatal bereavement care?
  • What are the parent’s core tasks, and how do I provide developmentally supportive care?
  • What words and actions have the most positive, powerful, and lasting effect on families?
  • What are the therapeutic approaches that support healing?
  • How does the practice of mindfulness, curiosity, compassion, and holding space protect me from burnout?


In this informative, engaging self-paced course, you’ll explore this complicated landscape with clinician Mara Tesler Stein, PsyD, PMH-C and developmental psychologist Deborah L. Davis, PhD.


Drawing on Debbie's classic book, Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby, which has provided evidence-based support to parents for over 30 years, you’ll learn how to think about:

  • perinatal crisis, grief, and trauma; 
  • providing quality bereavement care in and out of the hospital; 
  • evaluating, supporting, and interacting with parents and families;
  • attuning to the nuances of grief, trauma, and adjustment
  • therapeutic approaches that support healing; and
  • the strengths, limitations, callings, defenses, and biases you bring to this job



This course was created with therapists in mind but is designed to be helpful to anyone who works with bereaved parents and their families. It can boost your competence and build your confidence in the important work you do with bereaved families. 


For more information on our work at The Touchstone Institute, visit our website.


Course Overview

  • Self-Paced

    This course is structured for students to learn at their own pace.

  • Prerequisites

    There are no courses required in order to participate in this training.

  • CE Credits

    This course is approved by APA, EMDRIA, and PSI for 18 CE credit hours. NY State CE approvals pending.

Note on Accessibility:

We include captions in all of our live and self-paced trainings. If there is anything else you need to make our trainings accessible to you, please reach out to us at info@touchstoneinstitute.org. We recognize that every person has access needs and we are happy to do everything we can to meet yours.
Get in Touch

Instructors

Mara Stein, PsyD, PMH-C

Mara Tesler Stein, Psy.D., PMH-C is a clinical psychologist practicing in Chicago and Jerusalem. She is the founder and director of The Touchstone Institute for Psychotherapy and Training where she offers both EMDR Foundational trainings for perinatal specialists & advanced EMDR workshops which take a deeper dive into the intersections and applications of EMDR and perinatal mental health. Dr. Stein is a staunch advocate for trauma-focused care and is trained and certified in a range of integrative trauma therapies. A certified EMDR therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Trainer for the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, Dr. Stein is also certified in Emotion-Focused Family and Couple Therapy, is a Gottman Certified Therapist, and continues to pursue training in Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga-Informed treatment, Advanced applications of EMDR, Brainspotting, and Ego-State therapies.

Deborah L. Davis, PH.D.

Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist who writes books that support parents through heart-wrenching crises such as the death of a baby during pregnancy or infancy, premature birth, parenting in the NICU, perinatal hospice and palliative care, and making end-of-life medical decisions. She has also contributed to a number of other parent books, medical texts, and professional guidelines that inform and support health care practitioners on developmentally supportive, relationship-centered care, perinatal bereavement care, and medical ethics. She is best known for her books, Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby (1991; 1996; 2016) and A Gift of Time: Continuing Your Pregnancy When Your Baby’s Life is Expected to Be Brief (2011; in press). She is forever inspired by the resilience of bereaved parents and the healing transformations they experience on their journeys.

Tiered pricing options for this course:

Questions? See our FAQ below.

More about our pricing:

We offer tiered pricing for all of our trainings in order to make our courses accessible to as many practitioners as possible. If you are unsure which tier of payment is right for your financial situation, please read through our FAQ section below or visit our website.


Please reach out to us at info@touchstoneinstitute.org if you are interested in a multi-month payment plan. We are always happy to create a custom payment plan to make it more feasible for everyone to participate in our courses. 

Course Details

    1. Introduction

    2. How to Use This Course

    3. Your Expressive Arts Project

    4. Expressive Art Examples from Prior Trainings

    5. Additional Handouts

    6. Additional Books

    7. Slides

    1. Introduction

    2. Recording: Laying the Foundation and Self-as-Therapist

    3. Readings: Sociocultural Considerations

    4. Readings: Self-as-Therapist

    1. Introduction

    2. Recording: Philosophies of Care and Therapeutic Principles

    3. Readings: Philosophies of Care and Therapeutic Principles

    1. Introduction

    2. Recording: The Parent's Painful Journey

    3. Readings: Grief

    4. Readings: Trauma

    1. Introduction

    2. Recording: Medical decisions, neurobiology, and therapy approaches

    3. Readings: Making Peace with Agonizing Decisions

    4. Readings: Therapeutic Approaches and Interventions

    5. Readings: Assessment Instruments

    1. Introduction

    2. Recording: Couples and Family

    3. Recording: The Next Chapter, Q&A, Cases, and Process

    4. Readings: Couples and Family

    5. Readings: The Next Chapter

    6. Video: Stillbirth and Surfing

    7. Video: Tommy Vietor

About this course

  • $650 - $850
  • On-demand
  • 18 CE's - APA, EMDRIA, and PSI

Continuing Education Credits

Completion of all course content and submission of a course evaluation is required to receive a CE Certificate for this course. This training is approved for 18 CE credit hours by the following approval agencies:

  • This course is approved by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). The Touchstone Institute is an approved training provider with EMDRIA: approval #22021-DL01

  • This course is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) for continuing education towards maintaining the PMH-C

  • This course is cosponsored by Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington. Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • This course is cosponsored by Helping Hands Psychotherapy. Helping Hands Psychotherapy, LCSW, PC is recognized by the New York State Education Department as an approved provider of continuing education by the State Boards of Social Work for licensed social workers #SW-0567, Mental Health Practitioners for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0202, and Psychology for licensed psychologists #PSY-0074.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is this course EMDRIA-Approved?

    Yes, this course is approved for 18 CE credits through the EMDR International Association.

  • Is this course approved by PSI?

    Yes, this course is approved by PSI for 18 CE credits both for obtaining the PMH-C as well as for renewing the PHM-C.

  • Is the Generative Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Own the home you live in (even with a mortgage); live in a two-income household; have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money; travel recreationally; have access to family money and resources in times of need; work part-time by choice, etc.

  • Is the Sustaining Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Have income available for recreational activities (going out to dinner, movies, concerts etc.); have consistent work compensated at a median income rate based on your region; pay rent that is not more than 25% of your monthly household income; do not own your own home, etc.

  • Is the Supported Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Are a graduate student paying tuition; have major medical expenses not covered by insurance; have been denied work, or experience discrimination related to ableism, racism, sexism, gender discrimination or other forms of oppression; are eligible for public assistance; have immigration-related expenses; have ever been denied work due to incarceration history; are supporting adult children, extended family members in need or have other adult dependents; are an elder with limited financial support; are primarily working in a setting with under-resourced populations and your income reflects this work, etc.

  • Are there payment plan options available?

    Yes! We are happy to work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. Please reach out to us over email with a brief description of the length of the plan that you are interested in using to pay for this course: info@touchstoneinstitute.org.

  • How can I learn more about your pricing?

    Please visit our website for more information on our approach to pricing our trainings: www.touchstoneinstitute.org/pricing.

  • What is your refund policy?

    We require 30-days notice for cancellations to receive a refund, minus a 5% administrative fee. If you cancel within thirty days you will be able to apply your full tuition to any other trainings we offer.

Other courses you may be interested in:

  • $750.00

    $750.00The Advanced Practice of EMDR for Perinatal & Infant Mental Health (Self-Paced)

    Learn More

  • $750.00

    $750.00EMDR Fundamentals: Reboot Through the Perinatal Lens (December 11-13, 2022)

    Learn More

Join our growing community of perinatal providers