FAQ
What is a death doula?
A death doula is someone who serves the dying individual and their loved ones as an advocate and support before, during, and after the dying process. Services range from pre-planning to after-death body care and grief support. Death doulas fill a gap in community services and work alongside your healthcare team to help you maintain autonomy and quality of life. Other names for death doula include: death midwife, end-of-life doula, thanadoula, death worker, soul midwife, coaches, guide, and provider.
Where did the term death doula come from?
Doula refers to the Greek word for a servant or individual of service. The term was later adopted in 1969 during the holistic birthing movement by cultural anthropologist Dr. Dana Raphael in reference to supportive guides who would tend to mothers during and after childbirth. Just as birth doulas support mothers during their transition into motherhood, death doulas help support patients and those closest to them during the dying process.
What is an advanced healthcare directive?
An advanced healthcare directive is a document that spells out your wants regarding treatment and quality of life in the event you are unable to make decisions for yourself.
Why is it important to have an advanced healthcare directive?
This directive helps inform and guide the decisions made by your healthcare power of attorney or next of kin, taking away much of the stress and guesswork involved in making treatment decisions. Having a thorough healthcare directive gives you the opportunity to express clearly what quality of life means to you, what treatments and interventions you are and are not willing to endure, and eases the responsibility of making those decisions for those closest to you.
What is trauma-informed care (TIC)?
Trauma informed care is an approach to navigating relationships that integrates the knowledge of the impact of trauma on a person. With the realization that trauma has widespread impacts and effects are greatly individualized, informed care is a tool to recognize the signs of and potential pathways of healing from that trauma. It’s impossible to get through this ride without some exposure to challenging circumstances, pain, and grief. As you learn to navigate your way through those difficult experiences for yourself, choosing providers that seek to inform themselves and remain mindful of not retraumatizing you become important.
What is Medical Aid in Dying (M.A.I.D.)?
The End of Life Option Act enables an adult with a terminal diagnosis, who meets certain qualifications, to request a prescription for life-ending medications from their attending physician. These medications allow an individual to decide what their limits around pain and suffering are and give them the opportunity to retain their autonomy and dignity throughout the dying process.
M.A.I.D. is not “assisted suicide” or “euthanasia.” This is a compassionate option for those who don’t want to die, but due to a health condition that is incurable or irreversible will die.
To learn more about the specifics of the law in California please visit Compassion Choices (insert link into text, wait for possible update with SB380 passing)
https://compassionandchoices.org/in-your-state/california/about-the-ca-law/
Those who qualify for MAID must be of sound mind which excludes people with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and those who have progressed past the point of proper cognitive functioning.
Timing is very, very important. This process can take two to four weeks and many do not make it through the process. It’s important to talk about this with your medical provider as early as possible and start the paperwork. Jill is available to help people find doctors willing to prescribe, complete all necessary paperwork, and be there during the dying process. What’s interesting about many clients who choose MAID is that just having access to the medication is palliative in nature. Some people choose not to take it. The whole purpose in supporting this process is to avoid unnecessary suffering.
