Journey With Deanna

This is one of the biggest questions I get, "how are death doulas and hospice different?" Or, "why would someone need an end of life doula when there is hospice?" Or, "are death doulas competing with hospice?" These are variations of the same question. Listen in as I give you a foundation of what role each plays.

5 Important things a Death Doula must know to help their professional practice  are: 1) Get the word out about your service before every little thing is in place; 2) Know, inside and out, what the #1 tool of the trade is and take great care of it; 3) ... go to our blog post to read the rest, better yet, listen in or even better, watch the video! blessings. :) Deanna www.qualityoflifecare.com

As you study the 3 keys to starting your end of life doula practice, you may feel awkward right now, but over time, as you learn more about these principles and practice them, you will feel better. I promise! It's not rocket science to accompany the dying, it is a human endeavor, natural to us--it is something we have always done. However, if you want to do this in a professional capacity, it has been my experience that you need to have more intentional development. Blessings on your journey. love, Deanna

Vigil days (pre-death vigil) is what most people think of when they think of serving the dying and their families. Here are some tips that may be helpful if you are considering doing this service professionally.  

What you have learned as a death doula is the same set of skills and awarenesses that you need now, during COVID-19. Its not that we need new skills, its that we need to dive deeper within for a newer deeper level of self care to be that guiding light that we already are, whether we are aware of it or not.  QualityOfLifeCare.com

You can heal from your illness and NOT have to suffer. That is the message in this video. Unconventional ways to use the medicine most think only hospice uses. (all death doulas and healthcare advocates should know backwards and forwards whats in this video.) love, Deanna QLC Resources

As a society we have been turned upside by the covid-19 pandemic. What death doulas in training can do now to support.

Kimberly King Wise is a Certified End of Life Doula, Home Funeral Guide, Certified Business Manager and Virtual Assistant with 21 years of experience supporting coaches, trainers and authors. She is a passionate death positive movement advocate and is uniquely skilled in helping death positive business owners kickstart their businesses into high gear. Listen in as she gives us several pearls from her years of experience.

The doula's role can be powerfully strengthened and supported with a clear understanding of the basic tenets of five of our world's religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For over a decade, author, hospital chaplain, and birth/death doula Amy Wright Glenn taught in the Religion and Philosophy Department at The Lawrence School in New Jersey.  Now, for the first time, Amy will combine her studies as a scholar of comparative religion with her work as a birth and death doula. Understanding World Religions for Birth and Death Doulas is open to all interested in the study of our world’s great wisdom traditions but it is particularly crafted with great love for, and dedication to, the transformative role birth and death doulas play in our society. Learn more: https://birthbreathanddeath.com/   

Meet Elizabeth, a massage therapist and end-of-life doula in private practice. She shares her story with us here of how she was a hospice volunteer and naturally came to develop her end of life private practice. She also shares about a new technique she developed for practitioners who serve people at the end of life, "Nurturing Touch for the Dying." Listen in and visit her website: www.elizabethernrecht.com  Email her at: Elizabeth@elizabetherbrecht.com Another amazing interview brought to you by Deanna Cochran RN, Founder of Quality of Life Care and creator of the School of Accompanying the Dying.

Reverend Bodhi Be discusses with me about living as a student of suffering, dying and grieving. "We don't value suffering in this culture, that is why we are always pushing it away." Join us in this heartfelt discussion on suffering, soul and spiritual life ... What if we got grounded in the world right here right now as a way of widening and deepening our spiritual life? Join Us In Maui: 2nd Annual Death Doula Conference Show Sponsor: Quality of Life Care, LLC. since 2005, supporting those who accompany the dying. End of Life Doula Training and Certificate Program

We had a fantastic time in this interview! But of course, I'm not talking with just anyone who is carefully living in between the lines--I'm speaking with Elena Lipson, Divine Self Care Mentor. Self care is more than a bubble bath, it is deep. We are used to quick fixes and band aids and measuring our results often by grand moments of success or failure. But sometimes (and this is one of those times) 'success' as far as our care for our selves goes, should be measured over time. The proof is in our sense of well being, day after day. We know when we are off track.  My hope is that listening to this podcast with Elena, who devotes her life to this topic, will motivate you to take even better care of yourself than you already are, perhaps help you 'get back on the wagon' if you've fallen off.  Learn more about Elena here: www.elenalipson.com End of Life Doula Training and Certificate Program. More HERE. Quality of Life Care sponsors "Journey with Deanna" podcast. For more information how YOU may sponsor our mis

Our role as end of life doulas is not only for the imminent days of dying. Some people want to focus there and there are many other places where we can be so useful. In the hospital is one of them. Listen in as I go over what is involved.  End of Life Care Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005  

Dr. Micahel Barbato stays busy enlightening us in end of life matters for decades. Recently he has completed a study with other physicians regarding what they have found inin brain activity among some people at thte moment of death. Listen in on our podcast today to hear all about it!  End of Life Care Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005  

Anyone can receive end of life training to know more about the time period, what to do, how to be helpful and to feel more comfortable assisting others. But not everyone who seeks this out has the 'calling.' The calling is that powerful desire deep in your bones that you knoow you are meant to offer yourself in this way in service to others as they die. When people reach out to me, they talk about this and it is interesting that so many feel strange for having the calling to serve others at the end of life. They are told that by family and friends who don't understand them. For the first time, often people tell me they finally feel understood and don't feel like a weird person. Hospice professionals and end of life doulas alike talk often about how people look at them when they say what they do and how they feel about thier work. It is profound to carry this calling. Most people respect it. In this week's podcast I discuss the calling.

Yes! Refer to hospice as a death doula. You may be serving people who are not on hospice yet and who may not realize all they are missing by NOT getting the great care they are entitled to. You may be instrumental in relieving their suffering by getting them into palliative care (whether or not they are dying). Listen in as we talk about all this.   End of Life Care Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005  

This interview with Sean Cunningham is so wonderful as you can hear the awe in his voice for the work of hospice. He shares how he came across the 'nurse with the purple hair,' and how he came to create the film. World-renowned filmmaker of the Friday the 13th series, he takes us on quite a different journey this time. Easy to talk to and not at all what I expected, I hope you also enjoy hearing from someone who has discovered the inspiring nature of hospice work.  End of Life Care Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005  

Amy Wright Glenn earned her MA in Religion and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Amy is a Kripalu Yoga teacher, Birthing Mama® Prenatal Yoga and Wellness Teacher Trainer, (CD)DONA birth doula, hospital chaplain, and founder of the Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath, and Death. Amy is a regular contributor to PhillyVoice and author of Birth, Breath, and Death: Meditations on Motherhood, Chaplaincy, and Life as a Doula published in 2013. She is also the author of Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go available this fall through Parallax Press. Amy leads workshops and trainings both online and in person. In 2015, she created the popular "Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss" training that has trained hundreds of birth and mental health professionals around the world.  End of Life Care Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005  

As an end of life practitioner, having experience underneath you really does matter. We all must start somewhere yes. Get a group of hospice professionals together as we share stories of our beginning days and you will hear the funniest and sweetest stories. That's my point: we don't know until we have been there. There is a big movement going on right now of people who feel called to serve the dying and we call ourselves a multitude of things: death doula, end of life doula, end of life guide or coach, soul midwife, death midwife. Some are coming from hospice ranks, developing a private practice after a long career within the field. And there are others who are wanting to serve others without coming through the hospice channels. As I think about this and know in my bones that you don't need a credential to serve the dying well, you DO need experience to do it well. This goes for the credentialed and non-credentialed alike. This podcast discusses the biggest reasons why.  End of Life Care Certificate Progr

Listen in as I discuss why it is so important to understand palliative care when you are an end of life doula. You will understand so much more about present services, especially if the person you are accompanying is not on hospice services when you begin working with them. This is paramount to your work.  End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program Learn.Create.Serve. training and mentoring doulas, companions, guides and midwives since 2005