Of all the services we provide as end of life doulas, the most fundamental way we serve our clients is through education. In a world where death is unfamiliar to most people, many of the families we work with have no idea what to expect. Helping them understand what is happening and giving the assurance that things are going the way they ought to go often turns out to be the majority of working with any individual family or client.
At IDLM we are honored to be connected with experts who provide educational resources that are accessible and easy to understand without being overwhelming; resources we can both recommend to our clients and turn to for our own use, to deepen our own ever-growing understanding of death and expand our ability to educate and to serve.
Two of these resource providers will be joining us in November for our Tree of Life conference, to share their own stories and to offer and explain the ways they can help us in assisting our clients.
Lisa Pahl is one of the co-creators of the Death Deck, a simple and even fun way to get your friends, family, or whoever else you’re working with to open up regarding their thoughts about death and dying. From Lisa’s official bio:
Lisa Pahl is co-creator of The Death Deck (thedeathdeck.com) and The E•O•L Deck; games that inspire meaningful conversations on what matters most in our lives and in our deaths. Lisa is also an expert contributor for Help Texts which provides expert grief and mental health support via text messages. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over seventeen years of experience in hospice and seven years in emergency medicine, Lisa helps people cope with illness, dying, and grief. With a passionate belief that peace at the end begins with meaningful conversations over time, Lisa engages people in talking about and preparing for this important
stage of life.
Helen Bauer is the host of the Heart of Hospice podcast which hosts frank discussions about death, dying and end of life care. Our own Anna Adams and Pam Carter have both joined Helen on the Heart of Hospice podcast. This is from her official bio:
With a deep understanding of the challenges and beauty inherent in end of life care, Helen Bauer brings a wealth of knowledge and empathy to her conversations with experts, caregivers, and those impacted by hospice care. She’s been a nurse for over 30 years, specializing in hospice and end of life care since 2009. She’s a Certified Hospice and Palliative Registered Nurse with experience in patient care, nursing management, quality, and compliance. Her passion for advocacy at end of life can be heard on The Heart of Hospice podcast, facilitating discussions that inspire, educate, and foster connection. Helen’s unwavering commitment to providing a platform for meaningful conversations about hospice care has made her a trusted voice in the field, offering solace and support to countless individuals and families facing the journey of end of life care.
Both of these thoughtful, compassionate women are going to be speakers at our Tree of Life conference and we couldn’t be more excited to hear what they can teach us about how to open the discussion about death and dying with our clients and in our own lives with the people that are close to us. When it comes to end of life, just being able to talk about what’s going to happen and how it should be handled is the foundation of caring for those who are moving on, as well as those who are left behind. We are looking very forward to hearing what these experts have to tell us, and we hope you will be able to join us to hear what they have to say!
