WELLNESS SERVICES ON LONG ISLAND

Certified

Death Doula

The role of a traditional doula is often associated with compassionate support for transitions and beginnings. But who’s to say the work of a death doula is not exactly that? When the end of life approaches for ourselves or those we love, we can only hope to be held in the space of dignity and honor.

That’s the role of a death doula: to remove the sterile constraints and create a supported space as we encounter an inevitable end and all that comes along with it. 

Centering on compassion

The role of a death doula is focused on providing respect and dignity as a part of the end-of-life process. Widely, death is something regarded as fear, and this culture of uncertainty and avoidance has created a death-phobic atmosphere toward something inevitable in every lifespan. We will all die. When you know the end of days is approaching, a compassionate voice to help create space for the web of emotional and logistical experiences that preceded it can be critical.

Walking with you, every step of the way

When death comes, the experience does not begin and end with the drawing of a breath. Death begins before we conclude our affairs and say our goodbyes. Sometimes, it happens without warning. In circumstances where awareness and time are granted, compassion and respect for the supported process of death can make it a transition of peace and empowerment. A certified death doula is trained in providing exactly that through every step of the journey toward an end.

The benefits of a dignified death

Not everyone wants to die the same way. Whether the choice is between venue or experience, the dying deserve a voice in how their end arrives when possible. A death doula supports not only the exploration of options available but navigating the emotions of what’s about to happen.

Death is a community experience. It does not just happen to those who leave their lives- it happens to every life they touched and the people that loved them.

Grief on a timeline

There is no concrete timeline to how we experience death- not for those who are dying or those who love them. If your family is afforded the awareness of an inevitable end of life, beginning a relationship with a trusted expert in navigating the uncertainty of those needs and questions can mean all the difference. Early introductions to someone moving toward death can help ensure they have the time and space to navigate their emotions in a supported environment while creating space and clarity for their loved ones to make peace as well.

Certified death doulas offer end-of-life support, and their training centers around the acceptance of death as a part of our lived experience. Involving end-of-life support as early on in the process as possible ensures a more comprehensive level of care at each crossroads you approach.

Is this therapy?

Working with a death doula is a unique blend of therapeutic and holistic therapy services. Our practitioner is a licensed therapist, but the work here is meant to complement traditional talk therapy.

“Death is not the opposite of life but an innate part of life.”

— Haruki Murakami

Frequently Asked Questions

  • You can’t choose whether or not you’re going to die, but you can choose the way you and your family can feel supported during the process. That support is exactly why you may want to have a death doula.

    We are educators, advocates, companions, and support. Our sole goal is to bring you a sense of dignity and respect in a very uncertain process. Having a reassuring presence that can be a part of every facet of the difficult transition of death is empowering.

  • In short, outside of the medical capacity of end-of-life care, we can arrange to do or be many things for our clients. We may wear many hats- from advocate to counselor or confidante- and each can be developed as required or established as the predominant reason for initiating our relationship.

    From practical to passionate, our relationship will be as unique in death as each soul is in life. We are here to empower you.

  • Unlike the caregivers in hospice, we are not volunteers or medical professionals. A death doula’s sole goal is to offer compassionate support. 

    The process of becoming a death doula is a certification that requires intensive training about the physical and emotional processes of death and the administrative and externally emotional concerns of the life outside the person at the end of their life.