End-of-Life Guidance
Paula's Path to End-of-Life Care
Paula's interest in End-of-Life (EOL) work was deeply shaped by her personal experiences with loss, beginning with the early death of her father. The silence surrounding his illness and passing left a wound in her family that was never fully addressed. This experience led her to recognize the importance of creating space for the stories of death to be shared, acknowledged, and honoured. Over the course of her life, Paula has navigated multiple losses — of loved ones, beloved pets, and even parts of herself. Each experience taught her the vital role of witnessing and being with others during their journey, rather than simply doing for them.
Through these personal experiences, Paula also discovered the healing power of nature, which has since become a cornerstone of her EOL guidance work. The emotional regulation and wisdom nature offers helped her process grief and loss, and she now integrates this healing energy into her work with individuals and families navigating the end-of-life journey.
Cost of Services
The cost of End-of-Life Doula services can vary depending on the unique needs of each individual and family. Paula understands that this is a deeply personal and often sensitive time, and she strives to ensure that her services are accessible and tailored to your specific circumstances.
Please feel free to reach out to Paula for a conversation about your needs, and together, you can discuss how best to support you and your loved ones. Paula is here to provide guidance, ensuring that this journey unfolds with peace and meaning.
What is an End-of-Life Doula?
An End-of-Life Doula (EOL Doula) is a trained professional who provides emotional, practical, and spiritual support to individuals nearing the end of their life and their loved ones. Paula’s role is to offer a compassionate, safe space for conversation, guidance, and assistance in navigating this final chapter, ensuring that the process unfolds in a way that honours the individual’s wishes and brings comfort to both the person and their family.
Paula offers a variety of services, including:
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Emotional and spiritual support for the individual and their loved ones
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Help with advance care planning and decision-making
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Support for family members during the end-of-life process
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Offer non-judgmental guidance and space to explore Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) as an end-of-life option
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Assistance with legacy projects, such as creating memory books or personal reflections
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Guided conversations to clarify wishes and ensure they are honoured
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Comforting practices that promote peace, including mindfulness, relaxation, and ritual
Through nature's cycles, we are reminded that life and death are not separate, but part of one continuous flow. Just as the earth regenerates, so too can we find new growth, even in the face of loss.
Paula's Role
Paula offers a calm, supportive presence for individuals and families navigating the end-of-life journey. She facilitates open conversations, ensures that wishes are heard and respected, and collaborates with loved ones and care teams to provide holistic, compassionate support.
Drawing on her background in counselling and ecotherapy and her 5+ years of volunteer experience in palliative care, Paula integrates therapeutic skills with nature-based practices to nurture emotional and spiritual well-being. Her work includes outdoor sessions, mindfulness practices, and rituals that honour life, ease anxiety, and support meaning-making.
How this support may look:
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Nature-Based Support: Outdoor sessions, nature walks, and grounding practices to cultivate peace and connection.
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Counselling Expertise: Guidance through emotional processing and end-of-life planning conversations.
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Legacy Projects: Memory books or eco-art to express one’s life story, values, and wishes.
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Mind-Body Practices: Somatic techniques and Qi Gong to reduce tension and promote relaxation.
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Earth-Centred Rituals: Ceremonies in nature to honour life, offer closure, and support grieving.
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Nature-Based Meditations: Guided practices that foster calm, spiritual presence, and acceptance.
This integrated approach supports the dying process with dignity, peace, and connection — to self, loved ones, and the natural world.
Questions
As an End-of-Life Doula, Paula refrains from offering medical, legal, or financial advice. All decisions, including medical treatment options and legal arrangements, are to be made by the individual or their representative. Paula’s role is to provide a safe space for reflection, guidance, and information, ensuring that the individual’s wishes unfold with ease, comfort, and peace of mind. The process is always a collaborative effort, and confidentiality is guaranteed throughout.
Paula supports families by offering a safe, open space for them to express their emotions, ask questions, and process the changes occurring. She provides emotional support, guidance on navigating difficult decisions, and helps families stay aligned with their loved one’s wishes. Paula’s goal is to ease the emotional and practical challenges that arise during the process of saying goodbye.
To Paula, a good death is one where the individual retains as much self-determination and control as possible, experiencing comfort, peace, and acceptance. It’s about reflecting on life, celebrating its contributions, and finding closure in a coherent narrative. Paula helps guide individuals towards this by honouring their wishes, reflecting on their journey, and fostering a sense of peace and acceptance throughout the process.
Paula facilitates conversations that explore what truly matters in the final stages of life. By reflecting on life stories, passions, and actions, she helps individuals and families connect to meaning, love, and presence, ensuring that the individual’s needs are met in a way that brings peace and comfort. Her role is to guide this process, ensuring that the individual’s wishes are honoured and supported.
Paula uses nature-based rituals, memory-making activities, and reflective practices to help individuals and families find meaning and closure. These might include creating memory books, holding sacred space for reflection, or participating in simple, calming rituals in nature. These practices support emotional processing and offer comfort during this sacred time.
It’s important to Paula that individuals feel empowered to change their minds as they go through this process. She creates a safe, non-judgmental space for conversations to evolve and helps ensure that changes in wishes are honoured and supported as they arise.