I work primarily in southern Michigan, and am always open to requests to travel further. I live in the Jackson area and am offering services locally, as well as traveling to Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Flint, and other rural and metro areas in the lower half of the Mitten.
I am not a hospice worker, nurse, or therapist, and my services as a death doula are separate from any other care you may be receiving during this time.
The First Conversation
After an exchange of messages or emails, we will get on the phone and talk about what kind of end of life care and support are needed. There are many kinds of ways to offer the right amount of support to each unique individual and family setting, and this opportunity to discuss what I’ll be doing, and what we can both do together, will be important to whatever you do next.
Working Together on End of Life Preparation
Depending on your specific needs, these are the things I can offer:
- Holding a neutral, safe space for the family’s emotions and desires throughout the process of preparing for the death of their loved one.
- Discussing physical, mental, and spiritual signs of approaching death and active dying.
- Exploring the dying person’s life experiences and finding out what their wishes are, so that they can be honored; creating rituals for their last days, and sharing those rituals with family and other visitors.
- Discussing and creating a vigil plan for the process of dying, and overseeing that plan during that process.
- Talking through creating a will or other advance directive, and getting it put into writing.
- Creating a legacy project, which is a collection of spoken or written memories, photos, letters, or other important moments that the dying person wants to pass to their family. This is put together with materials that the family and dying person provide.
- On-call text or phone support during the active dying phase.
- Holding a neutral, safe space for grieving and reprocessing after the death.
- Follow-up communication with family members several weeks to several months after the death.
After the first conversation, we will have an idea of what the family and the dying person want to bring into their shared and individual experience of the dying process. Sad things, necessary things, and beautiful things are all possible here in this significant confluence of events.
If together we decide we aren’t a good fit, I will recommend other death doulas in your area that I know of, and can also offer to put you in touch with my teacher for specific spiritual support.
Before you send me your first message, you may want to explore what costs are associated with this work.
For explanations of financial reciprocity in exchange for this work, please visit the Reciprocity page.