Services
There are many services a Doula can provide, and the requirements are different for every person. It’s hard to know what you want or need. Especially when you’ve never done this before.
Please reach out for a free chat, just to see if there’s something we can do to assist.
There’s no obligation or pressure, and simply having a conversation will help.
Life & death care planning conversations
This is for everyone. We are all going to die. Just as we prepare for a birth, we should prepare for our future life, and death. Together we can design our best last chapter.
By doing this, our loved ones will know what we want, and we can get on with living our best life.
We assist with ‘getting the paperwork done’ - Wills, Enduring Power of Attorneys for health and finance, Legacy documents, Digital legacy.
Advance care plans and Directives for what you want - or don’t want - in case of a severe medical event or accident where you cannot communicate.
Plans for what will be needed for your family (and pets), when you die.
Plans for what happens to your body when you die - there are many options available, including bringing you home for a ‘tangi’ or ‘wake’ period prior to a funeral, hiring caskets or using shrouds, cremation, natural burials.
Support after diagnosis
Assist the person and the family to understand the prognosis & know what their options are, and help navigate the journey with them - either towards a cure, or to accept and plan for whatever comes next.
Educate people on the death and dying process. By understanding more about this, we can take away much of the fear.
We work in a person’s home, hospitals, care homes and hospices - wherever we are needed.
Help to have conversations so that death is approached without fear or loneliness.
Advocacy - supporting others to speak for themselves, and advocating for them when they no longer can.
Work alongside the multi-disciplinary health team and palliative care providers.
Help to co-ordinate providers - this can be overwhelming.
Create a plan to enable the person to live well until they die.
Identify resources needed and make referrals.
Create a communication plan with all interested parties.
Create a life plan - bucket lists, life stories, documenting the legacy.
Providing comfort measures, practical and logistical support, including respite care.
Ensure cultural needs are met, and identify funeral preferences in line with the person’s religion/beliefs.
Attending the vigil during the final stages of life, guiding and supporting the family. ‘Holding space’ for the dying person.
Supporting the carers to have confidence following the instructions for administering medications.
Arranging respite care to allow the carers to have some rest.
Offering a broad suite of options for after death care.
We want you to thrive, not just survive!
After death care & guidance
If you have had a sudden, or expected death in your world, we can help.
So… What’s Next?
First of all, take your time. Death is not an emergency.
Care of the body - Options for how to bring your person home, or advocating for your wishes while under the care of a funeral director.
Funeral Guide - assisting the family with organising a funeral or memorial ceremony, either themselves, or with a funeral director.
Providing techni-ice sheets, for cooling.
Attending to cultural practices.
Looking at options for burial, cremation, natural burials etc.
Liaising with providers of other services.
Assisting with legal documentation.
Connecting to grief and bereavement support.
Let Grief walk you across the bridge, from the life you planned, to the life you’ve been given.
A doula’s work is tailored to each person’s specific needs.
Any, some or all of these services can be provided.
First 30 minutes is free of charge - this is usually a call or meeting to identify the needs of the client, and to see if we connect.
From there, we can identify how we can best provide support, and work out a package of costs, tailored to your budget.
Flat fee of $150 for a 2-hour consultation to do your Advance Care Plan.
Compassionate and competent support through the end of life experience is priceless. However, fees are flexible and based upon the situation, and scope of services required. We want to provide care for all, no matter your financial situation.
Based in Auckland, but able to work remotely and/or travel within NZ, dependant on requirements. (Often a Doula can provide support via phone or zoom also).
‘What must I do, to be at peace with myself,
so that I may live presently, and die gracefully, holding both at the same time.’
~ Alua Arthur, End of Life Doula, Going with Grace