The INELDA Doula Directory: Easy Access to the Finest Doula Services
If you have been reading our monthly newsletter for any length of time, or explored our website, you know that INELDA is dedicated to teaching people how to care for the dying in a new way. Our doula approach gives the dying and their families the assistance and guidance they need to deal with death in a way that brings them greater meaning, less emotional turmoil, and greater physical and psychological comfort. But simply training doulas to do the work isn’t enough. If the dying and their families don’t know that end of life doulas are available, and how to access them, they won’t get the support they desire and deserve. That is why we created our Doula Directory when we redesigned our website over two years ago.
The first thing for a dying person and family to know is that the doulas listed on our directory have all been thoroughly trained by INELDA. Our comprehensive doula class gives our graduates the knowledge and skills they need to provide the very finest in end of life doula care. During the over 30 hours of training, our doulas don’t just learn theory; they learn the tools and techniques they need to help a dying person deal with what it means to face death, explore meaning in their life, create a legacy project, and find peace. They will also help all involved plan for the last days, provide emotional support and respite for families, offer presence during a bedside vigil, assist with some aspects of physical care, and guide the family through the early days of grief. Our doulas serve with grace, warmth, non-judgment, and the kind of listening that comes from an open heart. That is the kind of doula you will find listed on our directory. We know this because we have trained every one of them.
The Doula Directory command is on our main command bar at the top of every page on our website. Selecting that command will bring you to the Doula Directory page, allowing you to search for a doula near you. Currently (as of our publication date) we have 224 doulas listed in the directory. This is by far and away the largest number of doulas on any such directory. Those doulas offer services in 39 states, Mexico, Brazil, and Canada.
You can find other end of life doula directories, but they either have very few doulas listed or they list people whose training is unknown. Many of our doulas in the directory have either achieved certification through INELDA’s rigorous process or are in the midst of pursuing certification. Our certification requires working in the field as a doula and presenting cases to INELDA for review and feedback, which helps to further develop their skills.
Another distinguishing feature of our directory is that it is searchable by state or country. It can also be searched by zip code within a certain radius of miles that you get to set. The directory is built to allow searches by specialty, when that feature becomes more important for consumers to use. No other doula directory is searchable. Instead, all you can do is scroll through a list.
Every one of you reading this newsletter will at some point have need of an end of life doula, or know someone who does. Remember the INELDA Doula Directory. It offers you the best chance to find a doula near you; one with the training, experience, and heart that can truly make a difference in the end of life journey.