WHAT IS A SOUL DOULA?
A Soul Doula is a person who provides compassionate, holistic and spiritual support for individuals and their communities navigating the end-of-life process. With a deep focus on emotional, spiritual, and energetic well-being, a Soul Doula offers a calming presence, guidance, and restorative practices such as Reiki and meditation. Their role is to hold space, offer comfort, and assist individuals and their loved ones in finding peace, meaning, and connection during times of profound change.
HONOURING THE JOURNEY: A PERSONALISED APPROACH TO END-OF-LIFE SUPPORT
When supporting individuals at the end of life, I take a deeply personal and intuitive approach, moving beyond conventional frameworks to honour each person’s unique experience. Rather than following a prescriptive path, I create space for their wishes, values, and beliefs to shape their journey in a way that feels authentic and meaningful.
Through open, heartfelt conversations, we gently explore their spiritual and personal needs, ensuring that their end-of-life experience reflects what truly matters to them. By integrating nuanced beliefs, rituals, and traditions, I help cultivate a sense of peace and alignment with their core values.
With curiosity, compassion, and flexibility, I seek to honour the sacredness of this transition, embracing a holistic, person-centred approach that nurtures both the individual and their loved ones. In this space of understanding and care, we can create a farewell that is deeply resonant, offering comfort, connection, and a profound sense of peace.
WAYS OF WITNESSING AND HOLDING SPACE
My approach to supporting clients on their end-of-life journey honours not only the individual’s experience and needs, but also those of their community.
By thoughtfully tailoring the focus, direction, and selection of my services, I am able to provide a safe, open, and compassionate space where a person can fully explore the breadth and depth of their emotions.
BESPOKE OFFERINGS TO HONOUR INDIVIDUAL VALUES AND BELIEFS
Each of my offerings is carefully crafted to ensure alignment with, and respect for, the unique values and beliefs of the individual.
Reiki Sessions
Every Reiki session for a client on an end-of-life journey is delivered via an online portal, allowing the client to remain comfortable within the familiarity of their own chosen environment. This approach ensures they have easy access to any props or tools that support their sense of ease during our time together.
The structure of the session mirrors a 90-minute real-time online experience, including a Check-in, Guided Meditation, 45 minutes of Reiki, and a period of Self-Reflection.
These sessions are intended to support the individual in becoming more present with themselves, fostering a deeper connection with their unique spiritual faith and beliefs.
Love Legacy: End-of-Life Planning
Love Legacy planning is a heartfelt and thoughtful process where an individual’s personal wishes, preferences, and spiritual needs are documented through a series of open and honest conversations.
This process empowers individuals to make meaningful decisions about their end-of-life journey, which they can then share with their family and community. It provides clear guidance on how they wish to be cared for, helping to ease any uncertainty and ensuring that their wishes are honoured.
Love Legacy planning can encompass any aspect of the dying process, from the time leading up to death, during, and after. This may include creating a calming and comforting environment with preferred lighting, cherished memorabilia, meaningful music, and soothing scents. It also considers the presence of loved ones, personal rituals, and rites that hold significance, making the end-of-life experience more personal and purposeful.
Additionally, it supports the planning of funerals, celebrations of life, and remembrance ceremonies, alleviating stress and removing guesswork for loved ones.
Love Legacy planning also offers the opportunity to prepare messages of love and reflection to be shared with family and the wider community.
At a time when many aspects of life may feel beyond control, Love Legacy planning brings a sense of empowerment and peace, knowing that personal wishes and connections are honoured.
Supporting Community Emotional Wellbeing During the End-of-Life Journey
An individual experiencing the end-of-life journey can find deep comfort in knowing that their loved ones are also cared for and supported in their emotional wellbeing throughout this time. It is important for families and communities to feel connected, supported, and understood as they navigate the complex emotions that arise from a diagnosis through to the end-of-life stage.
To meet this need, I offer a warm and welcoming online space for your family and community to come together, fostering openness and understanding as they move through anticipatory grief and beyond.
This space can be thoughtfully curated with activities and tools designed to support the emotional wellbeing of your community. These may include sharing health updates to keep everyone informed, creating opportunities for connection through a community book club where members can read a chosen book and share their thoughts and reflections. Creative writing and journaling sessions can also help participants express their feelings and process their experiences.
In addition, guided meditation sessions can provide a moment of calm and grounding, while virtual remembrance ceremonies offer a chance to honour and remember loved ones. A storytelling space, where family and friends can share memories and celebrate life, can also help foster connection and healing.
Above all, this space is dedicated to providing a supportive environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and genuinely acknowledged during this time.
Vigiling Support
In many cultures, holding a vigil for a loved one on their end-of-life journey brings immense comfort to both the community and the individual. It also serves as a moment of significance and reverence, honouring the dying process.
However, in today’s world, families and communities are often dispersed across wide geographical distances, juggling complex work and life commitments, or facing challenges that make being physically present impossible. This can leave people feeling helpless and deprived of the opportunity to offer this final act of love and support.
Online vigils provide a meaningful solution, offering a space where families and communities can come together in an inclusive and respectful way. By participating virtually, they can share in the experience, feel a sense of purpose during this important part of the journey, and alleviate feelings of guilt or regret.
