What is an End of Life Doula?

What is an end of life doula?

End of life doulas support the dying and their loved ones by providing affirming, caring, non-medical support to carry out your needs and wishes in a tender time. EOL doulas help to bridge the gaps between family (or lack of family), hospice, funeral planning, and other logistics to be addressed at end of life, like a best friend who is an expert in walking you through EOL needs in the most supportive way possible.

For a more personalized scope of what you may be looking for, I invite you to book a complimentary phone consultation.

  From the International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA):

Doulas normalize deathcare by creating spaces to hold conversations leading to increased communication and increased spiritual and emotional wellbeing. When individuals plan for death, they have autonomy over their decisions and are able to clearly define their end-of-life wishes with family and loved ones. While there are alternative names for end-of-life doulas like death doula, death midwife, death coach, end-of-life coach—we all seek to provide compassionate deathcare.

 Services that EOL doulas offer may include:

• Provide the opportunity to speak openly and frankly about dying

• A vetted list of referrals for things like funeral homes, estate attorneys, grief counselors, etc.

• Talk about creating an advance care directive, and guidance with other key paperwork

• Support with funeral planning, or home funeral guidance, and end of life celebrations

• Discuss and support end-of-life care planning

• Facilitate discussion and desires for final disposition

• Explore the meaning of the dying person’s life and legacy

• Develop a plan for how the space looks, feels and sounds

• Incorporate traditions or create new rituals to mark special moments

• Encourage appropriate ways of touching and bringing comfort to the dying person

• Bring a focused and intuitive presence to the bedside

• Assist with physical and practical care to ease the burden on caregivers

• Provide respite for exhausted caregivers

• Complementary services, or referrals, for things such as soothing energy work, herbal medicine, acupuncture, etc.

• Help with simple tasks around and outside the home

• Explain the signs and symptoms of the dying process

• Process the emotions and experiences with loved ones

• Support the spiritual practices of all involved