Home > Newsletters > SEPTEMBER 2022
| Energy Medicine for End-of-Life Support |
by Melinda Chichester, HTCP, EOL doula
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Jane Whitlock, a death educator, shares, “What if we treat death like birth? What if learning our loved one is dying and approaching death is met with a deep love with which we greet new life? What if we care for the dying just as we know how to care for a newborn?”
Energy medicine is a biofield therapy that supports the body in self-healing. A healthy biofield is a large field of energy that surrounds and extends from the body about 6 to 8 feet. No part of the energy system is visible to the human eye, but the biofield can be felt with the hands, often through pressure, temperature changes, and intuitive information. |
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| doula Profile |
Robin Frank-Rempel
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| Transformed by loss, Robin Frank-Rempel switched from her early entrepreneurial pursuits to a path that gave her radically changed life deeper purpose and meaning. Founder of Cornflower Illuminations, LLC, Robin is certified in a number of disciplines—shamanic and Reiki energy medicine, interfaith and interspiritual guidance, and work as an end-of-life-doula (or soul midwife). |
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| Q&A with Robin |
| When and why did you decide to become an end-of-life doula? |
| I have had many turning points in my life, but the one that put me on the road to being a doula began in the middle of the journey of my life when death showed up as an advisor. Within a few years I lost my beloved animals (two dogs and two cats); my grandmother, who meant the world to me; and then my father and mother, who passed within three months of each other. |
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Navigating Dementia
September 14-18 | WED/THU 6pm–9pm & SAT/SUN 10am–1pm
The 12-hour class examines the various cognitive changes that develop in each stage of dementia and how they may affect your doula work. Educators Cloud Conrad and Marady Duran will share practical knowledge on what those changes are and how to adapt your methods for people with dementia to provide optimal doula care. This class will meet for 4 sessions on specific dates and times between the 14th-18th. See full calendar event for details. REGISTER HERE |
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LifeWriting Workshop 2
The Art of the Legacy Interview
September 17 | SAT 1pm – 2:30pm ET
In this workshop learners will explore interviewing and life review techniques as they learn how to write about someone who is terminally ill, a loved one in their life, or their own life story. Educator Garrett Drew Ellis will lead this second of INELDA’s three-part LifeWriting series, designed to teach storytelling and provide a road map for writing and developing your own or someone’s life story. Learners can register for any part of this series individually. REGISTER HERE |
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| MEDIA OF THE MONTH |
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| Salt in my Soul |
| Directed by Will Battersby
Reviewed by Loren Talbot |
| In the end-of-life spaces we inhabit, most often we are there to support the dying. The film Salt in My Soul—which traces the life of Mallory Smith, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 3, shows us how to support the living. READ MORE |
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| inelda relaunches certification process |
by Jamie Eaddy Chism
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| INELDA will reopen our certification process Saturday, October 1st. Although not required for you to practice as a doula, certification is an opportunity to continue learning and can be a meaningful credential that informs your clients and community you’ve taken additional time to develop your skills.
In April 2022, we temporarily closed our process because we heard your feedback, and we wanted to take the time to address your concerns. In reviewing our process, we realized that it wasn’t accessible to all and did not consider how challenging it might be to submit all the required forms. |
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Just as various end-of-life doula trainings offer different approaches to learning, approaches that are sometimes learner specific, we applied this philosophy to the certification process. It is uniform and all requirements are the same, but it is also learner specific. How one meets the requirements may vary.
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| INELDA UPDATE |
WELCOME BOARD MEMBER ANGELYN FRAZER-GILES
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| Angelyn Frazer-Giles has over 25 years of experience in community organizing, policy analysis, and advocacy on civil and human rights issues and criminal justice. She is the founder and CEO of Heirloom Estate and Legacy Preservation (HELP), LLC, a firm that provides consultation, webinars, and tools designed to educate individuals about the elements of end-of-life planning. READ MORE |
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| INELDA DISCOVERY CALLS |
| Feeling called to become an end-of-life doula? Join us on an upcoming discovery call. Learn about the topics covered in INELDA’s End-of-Life Doula Training and what it’s like being a doula, and have your questions addressed by people working and teaching in the field. Dr. Jamie Eaddy Chism will host the evening and invite you to learn more about the INELDA community. SIGN UP HERE |
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| CERTIFICATION Q&A NIGHT |
INELDA is launching our new certification program. Dr. Jamie Eaddy Chism will host a Q&A night Tuesday, October 4, from 8–9:30 pm (ET) to answer all questions about certification. We appreciate those of you who have been waiting for this relaunch and are excited to walk you through the process of becoming an INELDA certified end-of-life doula. SIGN UP HERE
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INELDA JOINS C-TAC and NACHW
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| Over the recent months INELDA has joined as a member in organizations whose policies and advocacy work supports the work of end-of-life doulas and others in the field of death care. We are excited to call ourselves members of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) and the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW). READ MORE |
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IN THE NEWS
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| This month INELDA and the work of INELDA-trained end-of-life doulas were featured in Now Association, Vox, and Westword. READ MORE |
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SUPPORT OUR WORK
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Please consider supporting INELDA’s efforts and scholarship programs! |
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| INELDA’S SEPTEMBER WEBINAR |
| Monthly Webinar |
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Sound Meditation Presents: Using Sound to Support End-of-Life Care
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Wednesday, September 28th, 7:00-8:30pm ET
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| We welcome Sound Meditation Presents, whose mission is to spread the practice of intentional relaxation through sound meditation and sound baths. Cofounders Simona Asinovski and Guy Douglas will join us for our monthly webinar. Sound meditation is a powerful tool to help people relax and reset their nervous systems. Simona and Guy created the largest sound baths in the country with The Sound Healing Symphony and The Sound Bath App. Together we will explore how to use tools to ease anxiety and support those we are serving. |
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| Guy Douglas is a sound healing practitioner and gongmaster. He has been involved with the healing power of music his whole life from many different perspectives: writing, recording, producing, and performing. He has studied sound healing techniques and the Eastern philosophy of music, which helps clear dormant pathways to open the heart.
Simona Asinovski is an entrepreneur and artist with a passion for building community. She has been devoted to movement, music & meditation since her first yoga class in 2009. When she discovered sound meditation through Guy, she joined the mission to spread the practice as far as possible.
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| Cost: Free with INELDA membership | non-members $15 |
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| PRACTICE CORNER |
| TOOLBOX TIPS |
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Since masks are required in many situations, when you’re working with clients, consider wearing a lip-reading mask. It will allow them to see your lips, and it’s better for sharing facial expressions. I use lip-reading masks in the hospital for my spiritual-care visits. —Barbara White |
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| SHARING SOURCES |
Soaring Spirits International
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| After her husband, Phillip, was killed in a bicycle accident in 2005, Michele Neff Hernandez sought out other widows for support and understanding on how to live with his death. Through a mutual friend, she was introduced to Michelle Dippel, who had lost her husband, Daniel, to esophageal cancer. |
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| The two became fast friends due to their “lifeline through the ups and downs associated with grief and widowhood.” On a car ride one day, Neff Hernandez shared with Dippel the idea she had for creating a retreat for widowed people. That serendipitous drive led to the formation of Soaring Spirits International and the creation of Camp Widow, a weekend-long conference for anyone who has experienced the death of a spouse or partner. |
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ASK INELDA
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| I have a degenerative disease, and as I train to become a doula, I am concerned that people will question how I am able to help them when they see my disability. —April training participant |
| Educator Wilka Roig: I don’t think that there is any way we can say how someone is going to act when we step into a role of service. We are showing up with care and compassion and knowledge—everything else is secondary. People can trust more and relate more to knowing that someone else has gone through or is going through a human challenge.
Educator Lara Stewart-Panko: What was coming up for me when you asked this question was the value of peer support. I wonder if there is an opportunity for you to connect with prospective clients that have this same disability and if in some ways this would actually support their comfort and limit your concerns. READ MORE |
| Please submit questions to [email protected] |
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| Self-Care Prescription |
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Regain Your Tolerance,
From Self-Care for Caregivers
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Caregivers are usually tolerant people. Their selflessness and desire to serve makes them sympathetic to the needs and wants of others. Caregivers have a positive tendency to accept others as they are and are often forgiving and understanding people. No one has more capacity for patience and tolerance than people who care for others.
This capacity may be stretched to its limits, however, by the conditions and circumstances you face during your caregiving journey. Physical pain and ailments, cognitive decline, and medical crises can affect the moods and emotions of those you care for, and the result can make it challenging to remain tolerant and kind. Aggressive or negative behavior is never easy to handle, and patients can become hard to deal with or uncomfortable to be around. When faced with difficult, angry, or mean behavior, your tolerance threshold can take a hit, and you can become grouchy and less patient. READ MORE
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— Susanne White
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| News Briefs |
Spirituality Essential to Whole Person Care
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| According to a study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, integrating spirituality into health care has positive outcomes. Their definition of spirituality includes organized religion as well as other ways of finding ultimate meaning by connecting to family, community, nature, and more. READ MORE |
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Hospice Trends Towards Private Equity Ownership
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| An article in Kaiser Health News reports on the increase of private equity ownership in the hospice market. Originally hospices were run by nonprofit agencies, but over the past decades two-thirds of the hospices nationwide are now run by for-profit ventures. READ MORE |
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New York Promotes Hospice and Palliative Care
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| New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul signed bill S8205A to raise awareness of hospice and palliative care options. According to a Hudson Valley Press article, New York has ranked last in the nation in hospice and palliative care utilization for over a decade. READ MORE |
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| The Final Word |
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The River Cannot Go Back
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by Kahlil Gibran
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It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
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© INELDA 2021 International End of Life Doula Association is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
Tax ID#: 47-3023741
Phone: 201-540-9049
Donate to INELDA
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