Why hire a death coach?

Nobody wants to think or talk about it, but we are the only species that knows someday death is coming.

A death coach can help ease the transition along the journey by assisting and supporting a dying person and their family. Funeral directors facilitate after death occurs but death coaches, who are sometimes called doulas, help with the transition between life and death.

They do this by offering companionship and understanding, fulfilling needs, simply listening, offering help with writing a legacy letter or personal history , assisting in settling old disputes, and making end of life decisions.

Death coaches are often the bridge between the dying person and their family. Sometimes they fill the role of caregiver or hospice nurse with personal care, facilitating communication between all parties involved. Also, they can provide important continuity of care as a trusted facilitator.

Cindy Kaufman, MEd, EdS, is a certified end of life doula (EOLD). She said that many people don’t fully understand the value of what she does.

“We didn’t know how much we needed you until you were here,” my client’s son, Mark, said to me on the day his father, John, died. This validating sentiment has been relayed to me time and again in my work as an End of Life Doula. Words cannot adequately communicate the emotional and spiritual support an EOLD can provide at the end of life. I describe my work as filling the gap between what Hospice does and what the caregivers provide. Unfortunately, many people are not aware a gap exists; for those that are, most don’t know how to get it filled.
(Turning an Emotional Corner: One Doula’s Story of Service, April 20, 2019, Cindy Kaufman)

To find a death doula in your area, check with your hospice, doctor, caregiving facility, or search online with INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association). Each will set their own fees and schedules. You will want to ask lots of questions upfront. Some are volunteers and depending on other relationships you may have with different facilitators, there may be no charge at all.

Cindy Kaufman is the author of The Mortal’s Guide to Dying Well – Practical Wisdom from an End of Life Doula. Her website is www.heartspeak2u.com.

Your willandaway.com account is the perfect place to list all of the details of your messy life and your wishes in case of disaster, disability or your death. Life is uncertain. Gain a little peace of mind with Will and a Way.

Information shared here is not to be taken as legal or financial advice. Suggestions and resources are presented for your consideration and may or may not apply to your personal situation. Please consult your advisers.

Information shared here is not to be taken as legal or financial advice. Suggestions and resources are presented for your consideration and may or may not apply to your personal situation. Please consult your advisers.