Pathways to Practice

A course for end-of-life doulas to develop their own care model. 

Being an end-of-life doula can mean many different things. Just as each person’s desires and preferences around the end of life are different, there are many pathways doulas can offer support. There is not just one way to be a doula. You do not need to be an entrepreneur and run your own small business, and yet, you absolutely can. You can volunteer in Hospice facilities and other direct care organizations. You can host “death over dinner” parties or death cafes regularly to invite safe spaces to talk about death and dying. You may find yourself in worlds of advocacy, policy change and research.  

Over the past decade or so we have seen the role of doula expand to fit many needed spaces of care. No matter what your interest is, there is a road that can be paved. We also know that each of you have different ideas about whether a doula should charge for their services or provide this work pro bono. The great news is that doula care is not a monolith and we can learn about different practice models to provide doula care that feels truly aligned with who we are and our own resources. 

Pathways to practice is a six-week cohort-style led course to help empower you with the skills to build your unique doula practice and model of care. We have intentionally shifted away from the language of “business development” because the spectrum of doula care is vast and incorporates many ways to provide service beyond just the traditional business model. We will take learners through a discovery process of envisioning how they want to be a doula and be compensated for their care. We will guide you through trusted strategies for building a “plan for practice” that will help establish your vision for care, your definition of doula care, your impact, and the financial resources needed to sustain your practice. Lastly, participants will hear from a variety of practicing end-of-life doulas as they share their models for inspiration of paths already carved. 

The cohort-style community of practice offers learners the opportunity to glean insight not just from the facilitators themselves but from a whole classroom of practicing and developing doulas.