END-OF-LIFE DOULA

INFORMATION CENTER
Welcome! Are you curious about finding the "real scoop" on this role you've heard of called the 'end-of-life doula' or 'death doula?' Yes--It is a 'thing.'  

Our FREE Video Series created by Deanna, 'How to Serve as an End-of-Life Doula No Matter Your Background,' addresses some of the most commonly asked questions she receives daily. Register below for the series to get a full idea about our movement and continue to scroll down to learn all about us now.  
 I am only on the second video of your free training series and I already love you! Thank you, thank you for offering your wisdom and giving those of us interested in end-of-life doula work an opportunity to explore if it is the right fit. I feel either way, this self exploration will be highly beneficial. Thank you again. - Michelle P.

Continue on! There is so much more to tell you...

THE EMERGING END-OF-LIFE DOULA ROLE
​Unity in our end-of-life doula movement is extremely important and should be modeled as we continue to advocate for excellence in end of life care. Quality of Life Care, Lifespan Doula Association and Lee Webster joined together to create this description of doulas and our role.

The National End-of-Life Doula Alliance

In Other News

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization created the End-of-Life Doula Advisory Council in April 2018. It was created for the purpose of educating hospice and palliative care organizations about the role of the end-of-of life doula and how to utilize us Deanna is privileged to serve as Chair of the Council.
Please visit the National End of Life Doula Alliance website to learn more about how many professional doulas and trainers are joining together to bring professional standards to our beloved role. Deanna is proud to be a founding member in 2017 and NEDA's first Vice President. Learn more here: www.nedaalliance.org  Become a member today!

The art of the practice may be learned by anyone who has the calling. The business of the practice, that of serving the community, requires a bit more. 

Stay tuned for more about NEDA and other national initiatives.

Interesting FACTS

  • ​Census Bureau data reports that in just 10 short years people over the age of 65 will outnumber children (<18) for the first time in history. As this transition occurs over the next 10 years, we all will feel the impact in our fragmented healthcare system.
  • The evolution of the end-of-life doula role - Learn More Here!
  • Deanna answers below The #1 Question most people have before they get started:

MORE FAQ's:

Am I required to have a Certificate to practice as a Death Doula?

No. There is no accrediting body in the USA or any other country for End-of-Life doulas. Each End-of=Life Doula training that has a Certificate Program is from that organization only. More and more people, doulas included, are expecting a person to have this specific training if they are practicing professionally. 
Is this a new field?
     
Yes, and no. We have been accompanying each other through dying the best we can all along the way in our evolution as a species. Since Dame Cecily Saunders began advocating for compassionate end-of-life care in healthcare in the 1960s, there has been a new awareness and new standard we have grown to support.  What is happening now, over the last 20 years is the acknowledgement that we need more support as an adjunct to our healthcare and hospice systems. If you are going to do this professionally, this non-medical loving support requires an expertise if you are going to offer it to your community. You must have special awarenesses and training. 
What is the difference between hospice and what a death doula does?

Death doulas are supportive to hospice; they do not take the place of hospice. There are progressive hospices in this country that actually have end-of-life doula programs housed within their volunteer programs. Deanna currently consults with many of them and custom builds programs for them. When a Doulas is functioning within a hospice they are providing an extra layer of support that spans before, during and after death. When a Doula is functioning in the community as an independent practitioner, they are hired by the family and advocate for the family. They are a source of referral to hospices and support the hospice as well as the family. As an independent practitioner, a Death doula is able to provide any service a family may need instead of working within the confines of a healthcare organization. Their service is only limited by their won expertise and boundaries, not company policies. Death doulas also can step in where hospice may need help.
Is it the "movement's"  intention to be part of creating a new profession that will serve the dying?

"No. What I think is happening is that people want to know how to serve the dying well. So many people up to now have been removed from the dying process and after death process. We have been turning our dying and death care duties over to hospitals and funeral homes for the last 80 - 100 years. Although all the modern miracles of life-saving treatments have been astounding and we are grateful for them, it has changed the face of dying as we used to know it.

Now we must learn how to die in this modern age. There are new ethical considerations and new decisions to be made. The very treatments and protocols that we want to use for saving someone's life who could survive from an accident or special circumstance actually hurts a person who is dying. Dying from chronic illness is very different than how we used to die before the marvels of the last 100 years.

Each culture and every community has 'wise ones' who know how to assist their family, friends and neighbors through the dying time. These people are still here; it is many of these people coming by the hundreds to add more knowledge to their skill set, learn new things from people who have more experience. We are combining our abilities and awareness.

Because of where we are headed with the aging of our baby boomer generations, what many are calling the "Silver Tsunami," we will need so many people to help care for them, advocate for them, guide them and help plan on every level. Some will do this through community organizations through volunteering and some will offer professional services. There will be many who are the 'go-to' person in their family/friend circle and that is all they want to be. There is so much need and we need people in every corner who know how to accompany and want to.

I personally believe that the newly professionalized role of doula is about empowering our communities on a level that is necessary. You cannot only depend on volunteers with the massive needs we are facing in the next 10 years. It may be that a family only need the professional services of a doula once and from that experience, their confidence is restored or they know now they can do it. The family may never need us again, and that is the point:  to gracefully empower the people we serve to take care of their own loved ones. In the future, they may want to have us back to support them, but they won't feel they need another professional to stand between them and their death experience.

The people who are not afraid of dying and death and find joy in serving through this sacred time are coming forward in droves to learn more about the art of accompanying others through dying. They are seeking to ground the calling they feel.
We are here to walk alongside others who know but who may want additional support and we are here also to walk with the people who do not know how, guiding them through unfamiliar territory. 
 
Since I began this way in 2005, it has never been my intention to create a new profession, it was my intention to share what I know about dying and learn from others the same. The new professional role of the doula was born out of this, not from my doing, but from the many who know they can do this too--provide an expertise that is needed, so that our family and friends do not fall through the cracks." ~ Deanna Cochran RN
How do I know which program is for me?

When Deanna first offered this program, there were none like it anywhere. QLC was the first to offer this type of training in 2010 to non-medical students and healthcare professionals alike who were seeking to know how to care for their dying or to create a private practice. Now there are many trainings throughout the world. 

What Deanna recommends you do is to:
  1. Decide what it is you want to learn next or what it is you feel you need next to move forward in your desire to serve the dying.
  2. Do a search and ask around about that particular thing it is you want to know.
  3. Interview the trainers or companies that you found in #2 and see which resonates best with you.
  4. Make a decision and move forward. Take action. If not, you will be sitting around wondering about it all next year too. Many people call her and say, "I'm still in my living room thinking about it! Help, I'm scared to move forward." This is what often is behind the hesitation to move forward. So when you choose a program, make sure they are supportive.
  5. Deanna's specialty: If your main goal right now is to create a plan utilizing all your present experience, gifts, training and expertise to serve the dying, then THAT is her area of expertise. She is known for being the "pull it all together person." It is her philosophy that you are wise, with a lifetime of experiences and skills and with your own vision; what she adds is her part--the specific knowledge, exact tools and awarenesses, and expertise in not only end of life caring but also end-of-life professional service. 
Are there other people interested in this? YES!
PictureQuality of Life Care Retreat, Brenham, Texas, 2017
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End-of-Life Doula in Healthcare event in NYC, 2018. A Collaboration of Quality of Life Care, Doing Death Differently and Doulagivers
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Zoom Room. New Landscape for EOL Doula Training due to Covid-19 2020
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International Death Doula Conference, Maui, 2019. Doorway Into Light. Special Guest Ram Dass. (I am honored to be on the teaching team.)

More ways to learn​

Deanna offers a variety of ways to learn more about this beautiful practice. Check out:
  1. QLC Resources
  2. Our Official YouTube Station
  3. Our Professional Facebook Page (Lots of videos and news here.)
  4. Her Book, "Accompanying the Dying: Practical, Heart-Centered Wisdom for End-of-Life Doulas and Healthcare Advocates."

Considering a Deeper Dive?

If you already know that you want to follow the path to be an End-of-Life Doula, and you would like to study with us, please visit our Certified End-of-Life Doula program HERE. 

Common Question 

Does QLC support people who just want to know what to do with their own family and friends? Or does she only work with people who want to work professionally?

Yes! Deanna's main motivation in her work is sharing what she knows about serving a person well, in dignity and comfort and advocating for them and their family. She has a particular gift in working with people in this study to do exactly what they want and be equipped to do so, even if all you want is to care for your own family--the HIGHEST honor. Some doulas want to remain the go-to person for their family, friends and colleagues and have no desire to serve strangers. Some want to volunteer their service in the community, and others want to develop programs where they will not be financially compensated or where they already work. If your desire is to serve the dying, Deanna's desire is to be as supportive as possible to you in getting what you want to do what you want. 

Happy Course Participants
. Each video of the primer gives me questions to consider as I decide what path I would like to take with this. It also gives many different persons and websites to further research and find information.
 
The biggest advantage of the primer for me, however, is Deanna herself. Her demeanor is soft, compassionate and completely genuine. I feel like if she were at my bedside, I could get through whatever I was facing. It also encourages me to keep being myself through this process, and to bring to end of life work my truest, most authentic self. Thank you so much Deanna. -Vanessa W 
 There is such a groundswell of information, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas. I’m just paying attention to it all and noodling around with how I might be able to contribute in the future...I’m not sure what my path looks like just yet, but I so appreciate the work that you’re doing to help people along the way. You are doing such important work, and your presence, even just on camera, is calm, deep, and full of kindness. You are a wonderful spokesperson for this movement, and I just wanted to reaffirm that you are reaching people and making a difference. - Mary W. 

Important: Please Review!
  • The Evolution of the Doula Role - Read Here!
  • What does "Certified End-of-Life Doula" mean? - Read Here!

Helpful Information

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"End-of-life doulas provide non-medical, holistic support and comfort to the dying person and their family, which may include education and guidance as well as emotional, spiritual or practical care."

- National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA)