Grief & Death Doula Support
Support at End-of-Life
I want you to know that you don’t need to go through this alone. Whether you’re supporting someone who is approaching death, have just lost someone, are wrestling with your own mortality, or are curious how you can better support people in your life and work with grief, I’m here for you.
My work as a Death Doula is informed by over 15 years of supporting people through crisis and loss. I bring a wealth of experiences, resources and compassion to the folks I support.
As an End-of-Life Doula it’s my honour to serve our community in having open dialogues around death, dying, and our mortality, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. I often offer group consultations and lunch & learn style education sessions for counsellors and other frontline workers so let me know how I could support you.
As a Death Doula I specialize in:
Grief Companioning
Bereavement Support
Community Death Education
Caregiver Support & Respite Care
Life Review & Legacy Work
Ritual & Reflection at Life Transitions
“Grief is essential to finding and maintaining a feeling of emotional intimacy with life, with one another, and with our own soul.”
— Francis Weller
FAQs
What is a Death Doula?
The term Doula comes from the Greek δούλα (doúla) which means slave or servant. We continue to use this term as it embodies the humble nature of servant leadership.
Doulas act like a companion or a guide, facilitating a journey, providing education, resources, and both practical and emotional support, before, during, or after death.
Doulas can also educate, advocate, and empower clients to embrace the dying process early, and help align the dying process with a client’s needs, beliefs, expectations, and wishes.
Death Doula or End-of-Life Doula?
These two terms are synonymous; they mean the same thing. I choose to use the term Death Doula because depending on your beliefs, you might not see this human death as the end of life. And, because I think our society is Death-phobic and we need to start speaking directly about death and dying. So, I use the more provocative ‘Death Doula’ intentionally here.
What kind of support do you offer?
I approach this work like I approach all my work, with a trauma-informed lens, and a desire to walk alongside clients providing compassionate guidance where I can.
What services do you provide?
My work includes supporting people before, during, and after death. It’s never too early to think about our values and wishes around deathcare, and I facilitate conversations to support people in this exploration at any stage of life.
Education
Facilitating conversations about grief and death.
Initiating pre-planning conversations.
Helping to identify and capture priorities and wishes.
Providing information about available resources and education.
End-of-Life Support
Helping to create a meaningful legacy.
Providing respite support and vigiling.
Providing referrals and therapy awareness through my networked community.
Grief Support
Companioning bereaved through grief.
Co-creating ritual, memorialization, and ceremony.
Coaching and Somatic Experiencing support.
What is your training?
I started working with grief in 2007 through my work responding to crises on a 24-hour crisis line. Since then I have supported hundreds of people through crisis, grief, and loss, through a variety of roles. I completed the End-of-Life Doula training at Douglas College and the Hospice Volunteer Training Program at Vancouver Hospice Society.
I continue to learn through my colleagues, my community of practice, and my membership in both the Death Doula Network International and the End-of-Life Doula Association of Canada.
Supportive Gatherings
I host a number of facilitated events exploring grief, death, and dying. I welcome you to join us to explore your own relationship with mortality in a supportive setting.
Death over Donuts
So you want to talk about death!
My intention is to hold a safe, facilitated container for you to share your journey, ask your questions, explore your feelings, and connect with other compassionate humans keen to learning more about their own thoughts, fears and wishes around death and dying.
These gatherings are informed by the principles of The Death Cafe. All beliefs, opinions and perspectives are welcome. We ask that you limit triggering content for the safety of the group, but personal sharing is welcome. Note that this is not crisis support, and if you’re grieving a recent death I encourage you to check in with yourself before attending.
Check out the Events Page to see upcoming Events.