JUNE 2021

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JUNE 2021

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access to medical aid in dying impeded by lack of doctor participation

By Henry Fersko-Weiss

In the last couple of months, a number of articles in local media have highlighted a major impediment to people accessing medical aid in dying: the inability to find doctors willing to prescribe life-ending medications. For example, in an online New York Daily News article from April 27, the writer, Mara Buchbinder reports: “I have spent six years collecting stories about the experiences of patients and caregivers and health care providers with Vermont’s medical aid-in-dying law in the years following its authorization. One of the key findings is that patients encounter significant barriers in attempting to access medical aid in dying, and many of those obstacles come from the medical system itself.”

Doula Profile

Neidra Clark

Neidra L. Clark is based in Hillsborough, North Carolina and trained as an end-of-life doula with INELDA three years ago. She also has a National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) Proficiency Badge, trained as a home funeral guide, is a secular ordained celebrant, a Laughter Yoga leader, and founded and hosts the Death Café Hillsborough. She is the Founder and Lead Practitioner of Balance For Life And Death.

Since 1996, Neidra has offered a variety of natural healing services, including Reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, Laughter Yoga, and self-empowerment for people desiring to better balance their lives. Neidra is an active member of INELDA, NEDA, the National Home Funerals Alliance (NHFA), the Funeral Consumers Alliance of North Carolina (FCA-NC), and is a contributing Friend of the Green Burial Council.

Q&A with Neidra

When and why did you decide to become an end-of-life doula?

It was an immediate decision to seek training when I heard about end-of-life doulas in 2017. My first thought was, “So what I have been doing with family and friends has a name!” I chose to take INELDA’s course in 2018 when it was available close to my home. Having been at the bedside of many dying individuals over the past three decades–too many of whom did not have a good death–I saw a need for patient advocacy and for improved quality of life during the end-of-life phase. I am amongst those who feel called to this work. It speaks to my heart and, at the same time, my entrepreneurial spirit. My heart, mind, intuition, and soul have always guided me towards fulfilling perceived needs of humans and animals alike.

Contact Neidra
Web: Balance For Life And Death \\ E: [email protected]

News Briefs

MDMA Eases Symptoms of Severe PTSD

A new clinical study utilizing MDMA, a psychoactive drug, along with short-term intensive therapy has shown very promising results in alleviating the symptoms of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for people who have suffered for years. This is further evidence that psychedelics like MDMA, psilocybin, Ketamine, and others have a place in the treatment of depression, addiction, and fear of dying in people with a terminal illness. READ MORE

Medical Aid in Dying Updates

Here are some of the latest news items in the effort to advance Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in the U.S.:

According to a report in NJ.com, 33 terminally ill people chose to use New Jersey’s MAID act last year, joining the 12 people who made that decision in the last five months of 2019, the year the act became law. Nearly 90% of the individuals chose to die in their own home. Of the 33 people: 24 had cancer, 5 had ALS, 2 had pulmonary disease, and 2 had either a stroke or cardiovascular disease. READ MORE

Using Virtual Reality to Teach Caregivers Empathy
Over the past 20 years there has been a growing interest in using virtual reality (VR) as a teaching tool. Last month in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences a group of researchers published a review of 7 studies involving 485 caregivers to teach people empathy through VR. READ MORE

Advance Care Planning Allows Patients to Achieve 90% of their End-of-Life Wishes

According to recent research published in the Journal of American Medical Association Network Open, people who inform their loved ones and health care providers about their end-of-life care wishes find that 90% of the time those wishes are carried out. This research was conducted among 715 Kaiser Permanente families in which a person 65 or older had died. READ MORE

MEDIA OF THE MONTH

Dead Funny Dead Serious Podcast

Reviewed by Loren Talbot

Six-years ago, Mitzi Weiland worked in an assisted living facility before becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and opening Hourglass Psychotherapy in Seattle, Washington.

Always torn between wanting to become a comedian and diving into grief therapy, she began to find laughter in the mundane experiences of residential caretaking.

Following graduate school and her certification in thanatology from the Association of Death Education & Counseling (ADEC), along with her doula training through INELDA, she started the Dead Funny Dead Serious podcast in March 2021. The first series “30 EOL Doulas in 30 Days” was just posted. Mitzi is turning her energies to “30 EOL Reviews in 30 Days” with a focus on films, books and media that all have a dying-focus at the core. It will air in early July. In the following series “30 Funeral Professionals in 30 Days” Mitzi will talk with funeral directors, lawyers, and others in the funeral industry as they share what led them to this work and the challenges they faced along the way.

Our staff SUMMER READING list
Nicole (Trainer): I’m actually re-reading No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering (Parallax Press, 2014) by Thich Nhat Hanh for the second time right now. It’s just one of the best books ever written. This and When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron are ACTUAL bibles to me.
Book Synopsis: Thich Nhat Hanh offers practices and inspiration for transforming suffering and finding true joy. He shares how the practices of stopping, mindful breathing, and deep concentration can generate the energy of mindfulness within our daily lives. With that energy, we can embrace pain and calm it down, instantly bringing a measure of freedom and a clearer mind.

INELDA UPDATE
BIPOC Peer Mentoring Group
In July, INELDA will launch the free BIPOC Peer Mentoring Group—a monthly space created for discussing creative ways to find and work with clients, deepen our learning, and explore ways to navigate obstacles that may be specific to BIPOC doulas and communities. READ MORE
Peer Mentoring Group Extended
Our free Peer Mentoring Group, open to all trained doulas that are members of INELDA, which meets the first Wednesday of every month from 7:00-8:30 pm ET will be extended until the end of the year. Attendees who have already registered can continue to use the link they received when they signed up. The same link will work for every meeting through December. READ MORE
Staff Update
Lisa Feldstein, who served as the co-editor of the newsletter, co-chair of the Council for Equity Diversity and Inclusion (CEDI), as well as administrator of our scholarship program has left INELDA to pursue other work and interests. We will greatly miss her insights and passion that contributed to INELDA. We wish her much success!

June Webinar

Music as Medicine: with Music-Thanatologist

Catharine DeLong

JUNE 30TH, 7:00-8:30 pm EDT

Music at the bedside brings beauty, intimacy, and comfort to end-of-life patients and their loved ones.

The sense of hearing is the last to fade as a person approaches death. Music invites listeners to be present to what is going on both inside and around them.

On June 30, Catharine DeLong will bring her experience as a certified music-thanatologist, contemplative musician, and chaplain to INELDA’s member-only webinar. In addition to a presentation and an opportunity for Q&A, Catharine will demonstrate how she engages as a music-thanatologist with a dying person.

PRACTICE CORNER

TOOLBOX TIPS

When I do life review with a client, my goal is simply to get the client talking about the important things in life, about their thoughts and feelings. People are often hesitant to have these sorts of conversations with someone they don’t really know. Besides, some people just aren’t big talkers, especially at this difficult time.

So I first assess if I have created a good rapport with them. Do they trust me? Then I begin with a question that feels right for this particular client. I did a lot of research and put together a list of more than 100 hundred potential questions to ask when doing legacy projects. I use my phone to record the conversation(s) so that neither of us is distracted by me taking notes, and I can get the client’s words verbatim without any interpretation or false perceptions on my part. I transcribe the conversation(s) into a document that helps us to continue working on their legacy.

-Christine Dehlinger

SHARING SOURCES

SAGECare

SAGE was formed in 1978, building off the movement of the Stonewall uprising and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement, to ensure that LGBT+ older people could age with respect and dignity. As the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT+ older adults, SAGE is involved in direct services, advocacy, housing develop-ment, education, and policy to advance their mission.

ASK INELDA

I am working with a client who is a new great grandmother. In going through her photos and papers as preparation for a legacy project she found her grandmother’s confirmation document that she wants to preserve and pass down to the new child in her life. I originally suggested that she laminate the papers along with a written story to put into a scrapbook or frame. Do you have any other suggestions? —F.H.

INELDA: The lamination process actually melts plastics into the paper fibers of the document. The plastics are inherently unstable and over time will deteriorate and cause more damage to the documents. Currently archivists use an encapsulation process where a document doesn’t adhere to plastic, but floats between two polyester sheets that are sealed on all sides. If you are going to frame it or add it to a scrapbook, we suggest museum-quality cotton rag paper or conservation mat board. Make sure any glues you use are archival too, as chemicals in the glue can yellow material over time. Lastly, if you frame the documents, consider a UV-coated glass so light will not diminish the papers.

Please submit questions to [email protected]

Self-Care Prescription

Self-care does not have to take a lot of time, effort, or money. But it does take conscious effort. Too often we let self-care opportunities slip through our fingers. As a wife, mother of three, INELDA instructor, and EOL private prac-titioner, there came a time when I realized I was pushing my self-care to the back burner. I casually did a time audit on myself to discover where I was spending my time–even those short 2–3-minute spans of time? It became clear to me that I would too easily fill time with social media browsing, idle chit-chat, and haphazard to-do list reviews. After seeing this I decided to incorporate my self-care into many of my daily activities. When I run errands, I listen to calming music and do a somatic check-in of my body. I altered my morning routine to include lighting a candle and setting an intention before the craziness of my family’s morning routine. When I make tea for myself, I take a moment before the first sip to feel the warm cup in my hands and inhale the aroma of the herbs. For me, self-care is more about your intentional presence, than about the activity you are engaged in.

-Shelby Kirillin

UPCOMING EVENTS

30
JUNE

Webinar: Music as Medicine
Catharine DeLong, a Certified Music Thanatologist will share her music and words about how she engages with a dying person through prescriptive music to alleviate pain and suffering.

7
July

Peer Mentoring Group
First Wednesday of every month, 7:00-8:30 (ET), for the remainder of 2021. We will discuss creative ways to find and work with clients.

12
July

BIPOC Peer Mentoring Group

Second Monday of every month from 7:00-8:30 pm (ET). A space created for discussing opportunities and obstacles that may be specific to BIPOC doulas and communities in which they serve.

The Final Word

Delivery
Billy Collins
Moon in the upper window, shadow of my crooked pen on the page, and I find myself wishing that the news of my death might be delivered not by a dark truck but by a child’s attempt to draw that truck– the long rectangular box of the trailer, some lettering on the side, then the protruding cab, the ovoid wheels, maybe the inscrutable profile of a driver, and puffs of white smoke issuing from the tailpipe, drawn like flowers and similar in their expressions to the clouds in the sky, only smaller.

International End of Life Doula Association

© INELDA 2021 International End of Life Doula Association is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
Tax ID#: 47-3023741
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