Curious About Becoming a Death Doula? Start Here.
First of all, if you feel like you are called to become a death doula, I am so glad you have found this site. Many of us long for communities that know how to companion one another as we give care to the dying, prepare to die ourselves and grieve our losses. I believe this is the heart of our callings. Modern North America is in desperate need of people who wish to care for their communities with this sacred and ancient craft of death midwifery.
Death doula work in the United States is a bit like the wild west: it is unregulated, unliscensed and not centralized. That is good for for those who have been practicing this craft for generations but makes it tricky to figure out how to become a death doula and learn best operating practices.
I’d recommend you start by digging around the closest thing death doulas have to a regulatory agency, the National End of Life Doula Alliance. Here you will find a compilation of information by industry leaders on our scope of practice, core competencies, paths for training and a nationwide directory.
If you’d like a little more help narrowing in on your best training organization, I have a live workshop every other month designed to help you find the best path to practice. Please see the Death Doula 101 workshop for more information.
If you are local to middle Tennessee, I offer an in-person death midwifery apprenticeship. In 11 units (designed to be 1 per month), I will walk you through every part of death midwifery in one on one conversations with compiled resources and assignments to teach my lineage of death midwifery to future practicioners. Please find more information about my Deathwalker Apprenticeship here.
If you are seeking virtual training, I do offer the Deathwalker course on a case-by-case basis. Schedule a free consultation (meet Jade here) and let’s see if this is a good fit for us.
Last, if my offering isn’t the best fit for you, I do have a few tips on choosing a training program. First, I think it is important that the person who wrote the curriculum is working in their community the way you hope to work in yours. Second, consider the value of having a teacher who wrote your curriculum (and not a student like yourself who may not have practiced all that they are teaching). Third, ask for references of students currently in the program (these programs change rapidly). Last, does your training program offer mentorship opportunities upon completion? This is often tricky work and having a trusted source to turn to as you begin taking clients (and even if you’ve been doing this for years!) is incredibly valuable.
Here are some training programs that I would consider if I was just starting out:
