What Is A Death Doula?
Holistic, non-medical Support, Guidance and Care at the End-Of -Life
Here to help you live fully and die prepared.
A gentle start
Death can be overwhelming—not just for the person who is dying but for the people who love them. A death doula offers calm, grounded support through what can feel like uncertain terrain.
Whether you’re facing a terminal diagnosis, caring for someone at the end of life or navigating your own fears and questions, a death doula walks beside you—offering practical help, emotional steadiness and a compassionate presence.
The role of a death doula
A death doula supports the dying person and their loved ones in a deeply personal and holistic way—before, during and after death. Their role is flexible and always centred around the individual’s wishes.
Death doulas work alongside medical care teams but focus on presence rather than clinical intervention, offering grounded, human support in a time that can often feel clinical, overwhelming or isolating. Services may include:
Emotional Support
Holding space for conversations about death, dying and grief
Practical Guidance
Assisting with legacy projects, vigil planning, advance care directives or after-death arrangements
Spiritual Care
Honouring the dying person’s beliefs and creating rituals or quiet presence at the bedside
Loved Ones Support
Helping loved ones navigate anticipatory grief, assisting in caring for the dying at home and providing guidance during and after death
Advocacy
Acting as a voice for the dying person’s choices, especially when navigating healthcare systems.
As a trained death doula and experienced palliative nurse, I specialise in in-home end-of-life care tailored to the needs of each individual and their loved ones.
Benefits of working alongside a death doula
Facing the end of life—our own or that of a loved one can be overwhelming, emotional and filled with uncertainty. A death doula offers grounded support during this sacred time bringing continuity, experience and compassion.
Death doulas work alongside medical and allied health care teams, but our focus is on presence rather than clinical intervention. We offer grounded, human support - whether you are at home, in hospital or elsewhere - during a time that can often feel clinical, overwhelming or isolating. Benefits Include:
Personalised Support
Providing emotional, spiritual and practical care that complements clinical services. They are focused solely on your wishes and wellbeing
Continuity and Presence
Unlike many healthcare providers, a death doula offers continuous presence—before, during and after death—ensuring you and your loved ones are never alone in navigating this transition
Advocacy and Empowerment
Helping you to understand your rights, clarify your choices and ensure your voice is heard—whether you’re at home, in hospital or elsewhere
Creating a Peaceful Environment
By assisting with vigil planning, legacy work or end-of-life rituals, death doulas help create a sense of peace, dignity and meaning
Guidance and Grief Support
Those supporting the dying person often feel unsure how to help or what to expect. A death doula gently guides them easing fear, reducing overwhelm and offering support during and after the loss
Holding Space for the Sacred
Dying can be a deeply spiritual time. A death doula honours the emotional and sacred aspects of this journey—no matter your beliefs.
When I work alongside you I listen deeply, honour your choices and advocate fearlessly - so you can experience the death you desire with dignity and intention.
Why these services matter
End-of-life funded home services are available to eligible people in Victoria but they often have long waiting periods—a timeline that doesn’t always align with the unpredictable nature of dying.
Government and private health services also offer limited time allocations for face-to-face care, often restricted to short daily visits. This can leave people feeling unsupported during one of life’s most vulnerable and emotional transitions.
These systemic limitations can rob people of the opportunity to die in the setting they choose - where they feel most safe and at peace.
Lived experience
In my experience as a palliative nurse, many people who wish to die at home must first be discharge from hospital with services and equipment in place. But these services can be slow to organise.
Families are often expected to take on the role of carer—learning practical and even medical skills to support their loved one at home. This is because many post-discharge care services only offer a few hours of in-home support each day.
It’s a significant expectation to place on loved ones—especially during a time of emotional overwhelm. If they are unable to demonstrate confidence in these new caregiving skills hospital discharge may be delayed meaning the dying person may not be able to return home at all.
We are asking people to become carers at a time when their minds and hearts are already burdened—navigating anticipatory grief, exhaustion and the emotional intensity of preparing to say goodbye.
When families are unable to meet these expectations it becomes incredibly difficult to honour their loved one’s wish to die at home.
As a result, many people die in a setting they did not choose—not because it was their preference, not because their loved ones didn't want to honour their wishes -but because the right support wasn't available when they needed it most.
How I help to bridge the gap
My services exist to bridge the gap in availability, accessibility and the depth of care that many systems are unable to provide when it comes to honouring a person's wish to die at home. You can learn more about the full scope of support I offer on the Services page.
Below is an overview of how I can assist you or your loved one to return home and remain at home during a hospital admission, when death has been communicated as imminent:
Advocating early
For your choice to die at home
Working alongside hospital allied health teams
To arrange essential equipment deliveries or sourcing them privately on your behalf
Receiving home equipment deliveries on your behalf
So you can remain by your loved one’s side in hospital until everything is ready at home
Providing timely, compassionate and continuous care
So you or your loved one can remain at home, surrounded by familiarity.
In-home end-of-life support -respite support, regular visits or live-in-care -
When and for as long as you need it.