If you’ve never heard of this sacred practice, here’s more!
My training as a Death Doula began with the course offered by INELDA, the International End of Life Doula Association. Learn more about their programs at www.inelda.org.
What is the definition of a Death Doula? From the INELDA website:
INELDA defines an end-of-life doula as a nonmedical companion who provides personalized and compassionate support to individuals, families, and their circles of care as they encounter and navigate death, loss, and mortality. An end-of-life doula advocates self-determination and imparts psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and practical care to empower dignity throughout the dying process.
How does doula work impact the community? Also from INELDA:
The positive impacts of having end-of-life doula support can reduce direct care provider burnout, lower emergency room visits and aggressive treatments, and increase death literacy and quality of life at the end of life.
I will also add that, for my practice within the disability community, I believe this will reduce the rate of isolated deaths within institutional settings, provide tools and training for direct care workers who are attending to dying individuals in those settings, facilitate better care and attention to our loved ones; and in the case of providing doula support to caregivers at the end of their lives, I believe my work can bring a greater sense of emotional and spiritual peace that they otherwise may not consider for themselves.
My position on death care in the disability community
Among the core competencies from my INELDA training is this commitment: Continued learning about global structures of oppression and intentional systemic discrimination and how they impact delivery of deathcare services, specifically at end of life.
I firmly believe that the disability community of individuals, caregivers and loved ones are among the least supported and respected around the world. Oppression and discrimination of those who do not fit the physical, emotional or intellectual “norms” of our culture in the US has been normalized. Prevailing attitudes include the belief that people with disabilities are less-than; less important, less valued, less worthy of respect and therefore of care and compassion. I commit to providing all of these things in any way I can. I have served our community for decades in many capacities. I am among thousands of people who have lent their voices, skills, resources and time to improving lives. But, end-of-life care is a desperately unfilled gap that needs to be recognized. People with disabilities are dying in isolation, alone and/or without family or loved ones present. Loving direct care workers are unprepared and untrained to support the death journey for those they serve. Every single soul deserves to be lovingly attended as they make their transition out of this world.