Serving You Through Every Change. Here in our wonderful Ubuntu Community, we pride ourselves on being able to serve and care for our clients through every phase and stage of their lives.
We serve all people from all walks of life, from those who are looking to support their general well-being to mental health care, to those going through major health challenges, as well as support for those in palliative care.
We are now very excited to be able to offer additional services to those who are at the end of life phase, something we have always felt is an essential service and important part of our roles and responsibilities to the public.
Working with natural herbs and plant medicines helps us to better understand and resonate with the incredible and undeniable cyclic nature of the world. All things created will inevitably and naturally come to a conclusion. The cycle in the natural world is that everything arises and returns from where it was created. What returns is an essential part of the next cycle.
This understanding led us to seek out a Death Doula who could honour the end-of-life phase and provide guidance and compassionate care for those who are preparing to die. It came as no surprise to find that a number of our staff and other allied health professionals in our community already had some skills in this area, but we were even more excited to learn that one of those individuals was already a practising Death Doula.
Joya has been working with us for the last few years. During this time she had undertaken studies to become an End Of Life Doula, something that she had become very passionate about during the pandemic.
In Joya's words........
What is an End-of-Life Doula?
A Doula is a person of service. Many would associate the word doula with someone who provides education, support, guidance and advocacy for a person who is about to give birth, but a doula is also someone who provides guidance and support for those who are in the final phase of life.
What does a Death Doula do?
Death and dying are sensitive topics that are often avoided. When people and their loved ones are preparing for loss there is often a growing space of grief, fear and confusion. It can be a difficult and busy time dealing with this emotional space and trying to prepare all of the things that require attention during this time. A Death Doula is a non-medical person who is able to help hold this space and have the difficult conversations that are required in order to advocate and plan for someone who is dying. They help inform and educate, plan and support all needs at this stage.
Each person will have their own individual needs and wants, it is a doula’s job to be able to discern what those requirements are and help plan and organise what is needed, this way precious time can be spent doing what is most important.
The very basics of what a death doula provides are advocacy and guidance in the preparation of wills, sorting power of attorney and enduring guardians, advance care planning, living wakes or funeral preparations as well as helping create legacy projects, preparation for dying at home and/or vigils to name a few.
A doula never diagnoses or performs medical procedures. They do not provide nursing care or counselling. The most important part of a doula's role is to deeply listen to and advocate a person's final wishes.
Why would I want a Death Doula?
Time is a precious thing and loss can be all-encompassing and confusing. A doula will help provide space by doing the leg work so that your time is spent doing the things you feel are most important to you.
They are a wealth of knowledge and able to find the services needed to suit your needs.They are an outside sounding board which can be comforting in these difficult times.
Is an End of Life Doula just for the dying? Definitely not. It is a deeply caring and loving thing for a person who does not have a life-limiting prognosis to prepare their affairs in advance. This way if anything were to happen suddenly it is not the people who endure who will need to organise and prepare unexpectedly. Because we do not speak about death and dying openly we may not know what a person's beliefs are, or if they had certain requirements that in their loss we may want to honour.
Making these decisions in the wake of losing a loved one is a difficult process when we are also facing loss and grief. A doula can help you prepare and sort through the paperwork so that in the event of your death, everything has already been planned, freeing this delicate time for your loved ones.
It is also important to note that knowing what you want may be something you have never really thought about. There are so many options when it comes to death care. There are so many options many of us are unaware of. A doula can help to understand, educate and inform a person so they are happy with their final decisions.
Church of Ubuntu Service
It is comforting for us in our Ubuntu Community to know that we are able to assist with your care at every stage and transition of your life.
We understand that each of us will have to face this phase in our lives and it is so good to know that there are beautiful, kind and skilled individuals, who can help us to navigate this space.
Please contact Joya directly if you would like to know more about this wonderful service and also feel free to contact us here at the Wellness Clinic if you require any other further information.
Bright Blessings The Ubuntu Community
In Service to your Mind, Body and Soul. - Joya
The Sacred and Spacious (in service to every transition)
End Of Life Support
0478 740 727
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