Moving The Doula Field Forward

In any emerging field legitimacy depends to a large extent on how the field is perceived by those it intends to serve and the broader community. We founded INELDA partly because we recognized the validity of this principle. From the moment of conception, INELDA has been dedicated to bringing a high level of professionalism and education to the end of life doula movement.

 

The main training course we developed is based on a model of doula service that originated with the very first hospice doula program in the U.S., which I created 14 years ago. Since then we have evolved and refined that model and our training course. Literally thousands of people have gone through our public and hospice training sessions. People who take our course tell us that they find it rich, comprehensive, and inspiring. They also comment on how deeply they appreciate the opportunities to practice skills and techniques in a very real way, which prepares them to serve as doulas.

 

While training is critical to the role of a doula, we have always felt that the field needed to go further in establishing its validity and professionalism. This is why we created a certification process from the beginning of INELDA. We wanted to institute a standard for the field that would get recognized for preparing doulas to function with great expertise. We also wanted our education and certification to be transparent to those seeking to become doulas, to those people who direct doula programs in hospices or hospitals, and to those seeking to hire doulas directly. To that end, we have very clearly listed the components of both the course and the certification process on our website.

 

We view our certification process as a way to continue educating the doulas we have trained. We want them to continue to grow in their ability to serve the dying and their families. When we receive a completed certification packet from a doula, we prepare a thorough and in-depth report. That report helps the doula see the places they can improve, learn more, and reflect more deeply about what they are doing. It also offers suggestions on ways to approach particular issues and questions that might be helpful in doing that. Our certified doulas see this report as invaluable to their development. And it affirms the things they are doing well.

 

Several months ago a number of other people who train doulas came to the same realization we have had from the beginning, that standardization in the end of life doula field would help the field gain recognition and acceptance. We believe very strongly that our educational approach and certification process already has established that standard. But we also know that every field must evolve to keep current with the needs of those it serves.

 

We intend to provide regular input to any effort to raise the level of professionalism in the field. To that end, we set up a meeting at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) last month that included several representatives of a new organization called the National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA). The meeting at NHPCO was a follow up to a meeting that was held a couple of months earlier on the West Coast, at a clinical conference held by that organization—which we couldn’t attend at the time.

 

At the meeting last month the NHPCO suggested that we might form a Counsel within their organization to further promote the use of end of life doulas and develop resources around that role for hospices and hospitals. INELDA will play a very active role in that Counsel when it is formally established—hopefully early next year. While we haven’t joined NEDA, we will continue to stay on top of their development and provide input to them freely.

 

In the future we may join NEDA. But regardless of whether or not we join that effort, or any other that develops in the field, we will continue to lead the doula field forward. Our educational products and certification will always provide doulas with the very highest standard in the field. That is our commitment to the field. Our promise to the doulas we educate is that through INELDA you will always get the best education and the most meaningful certification. When someone who wants to hire a doula comes to our Doula Directory they can be sure that the doulas listed there have a firm grounding in the doula approach and its spirit, which has been further refined through working directly with dying people and their families.

 

Staying at the forefront of a field requires staying alert to changes and developments that bubble up from the grass root efforts of the people working in the field. That means listening to you who follow our work and work as doulas at a hospice, hospital, or privately. Please let us know what you see happening and how we can best support you. We will do our best to listen to you and to lead the way ahead.