‘What are End of Life Companions and Death Doulas’

**Only 14 tickets available**

“Doula’s aren’t just for birth. There are also ‘Death Doulas’ or ‘End-of-life Doulas/Guides’ and ‘End of Life Companions’ who offer support with end of life matters and demand for their services is increasing in Australia and all around the world.” (www.mamamia.com.au)

Who will benefit from this Community Workshop?

Everyone. Whether you are already working in the industry in other roles, or are just someone interested in working as an End of Life Companion or Death Doula, what you will learn at our workshop will be invaluable for you both personally and or professionally.

We welcome anyone who wants more understanding or wishes to learn or develop skills in end of life support and those who feel they are being called to become an End-of-Life Doula or End of Life Guide to attend.

The purpose of our Community Workshop is to build awareness and share knowledge and learnings with those wanting to support the dying, whether as a family member or friend, or to work alongside and support a Death Doula and End of Life Companion for someone they love and care about.

Please think about joining us if:

You are someone who is dying or is terminally ill and would like to know your options
You are thinking about supporting someone at the end of their life
You feel drawn to work with people at end of life possibly professionally or as a volunteer at home or Hospice
You are already working in the industry and are wanting to deepen your emotional skills and knowledge around death and dying from a different perspective.
You are simply interested to start the process and reflect on your options and what services are open to you.

What will I learn?

What is a Death Doula
What services a Death Doula offers
Communication and how you can support and be supported in death
Planning for the End-Of-life and the choices you have
Stages of End-Of-Life what to expect and how to respond to them
The physical Dying process and what this actually looks like
What you will see physically as someone is dying
Body Care after death
Disposal options of the body
Death and Dying: What is considered a ‘good death’?
What is Palliative Care?
What do I need to know and study to become a Death Doula or an End of Life Companion
How could I benefit from their services with my end of life
The Services an End of Life Companion offers
Funeral and Memorial Services – what they include and how to have a meaningful one
The top 5 things to know before you die
Legal things to consider and know about Advanced Care Directives

and they are just SOME of the topics we will cover on the day! There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask questions specific to your needs too!

We will discuss options you may not be aware of, and will talk about how much the industry is changing. It will be a day demystifying death as we know it.

A priceless opportunity to pick Michelle and Helen’s brains with any questions you may have - they are both a fountain of knowledge.

What do I need to know?

Our day will commence with a peaceful non-denominational meditation to calm our space and set the energies for our day of collective learning.

Being a full day workshop, for note taking you are welcome to bring along your laptops/iPad etc – Complimentary wi-fi is available.

**NO FILMING OR RECORDING OF THE EVENT IS PERMITTED**

Morning and afternoon tea is provided. GF and DF options catered for. Filtered water is available – please bring along a drink bottle to minimise our plastic footprint.

Street parking is available along Nile Street, or parking in the TAFE carpark is also available, which is just a short stroll across the road from Urban Wellness.

Urban Wellness is a synthetic fragrance free environment. Some people have a low tolerance to synthetic fragrance with the slightest exposure being a trigger for irritation, pain and malaise. They aim to provide a healthy environment for everyone to enjoy, so for the health and comfort of everyone please refrain from wearing strong perfumes to our workshop. This will then make it an enjoyable environment for everyone.

Natural synthetic free (non irritant) essential oils made by Scent creator and wellness mentor Kyrie Kohlhagen from Kindred Spirit will be on throughout the day. You will immediately be at ease upon arrival and ready to learn!

BYO Lunch (we may look at lunching at a local hotel, (pre-ordering to save time) if there is enough interest!

Please arrive on Saturday November 30th 2019 by 9:00am for a 9:15am SHARP start - we have lots to cover! We will be finished by 5pm.

For those looking at joining us from interstate, the nearest accommodation is in walking distance at QUEST Port Adelaide:

https://www.questapartments.com.au/properties/sa/port-adelaide/quest-port-adelaide/gallery

We wish to keep this to an intimate gathering so only 14 tickets are available. Be quick! Interest has been strong with this event! There are no plans at this stage to host this workshop again!

Tickets $250.00 ($239.01 plus Booking Fee but Including GST)

(Booking fee part proceeds of which support education for girls in third world countries)

BONUS: Each registration includes Michelle’s brand new online program ‘My Emotional Will’ valued at $199 which will be launched Mid November AND AVAILABLE FROM MID DECEMBER! That’s amazing value and content! ‘My Emotional Will’ guides and supports you to realise what is important to you to leave behind as a legacy to those you love. It covers the 3 things most import to us – ‘My Life, My Wishes, My Legacy’.

(access to the online program will be provided MID DECEMBER)

About the facilitators:

Michelle Jewels-Parsons- End of life Companion.

'Michelle comes to the death and dying industry with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She has completed studies in both grief and loss and is an experienced Funeral and Memorial Celebrant.

Michelle has worked behind the scenes in Palliative Care as both a Volunteer and Communications and Fundraising Manager for The Mary Potter Hospice. She has also worked professionally as a Funeral Director.

She successfully owns and operates her own business as a freelance Funeral and Memorial Celebrant and is also an End of Life Companion, and remains a strong advocate for Palliative and end of life care.

Michelle believes everyone should have the opportunity to have their story heard and told, and believes her role as a Funeral Celebrant is really being a ‘story teller of human magic’.

She works closely with bereaved families helping them to orchestrate beautiful heartfelt, personalised and meaningful farewells, and is experienced and adept at customs associated with many cultures and beliefs. Being a practising Buddhist herself, she sees her involvement as karmic and an absolute privilege.

Michelle is also blessed to guide those experiencing terminal illness and facing end of life, support and education, helping them acknowledge their life and prepare and accept their death.

Michelle realised early on in her career as a Funeral Celebrant that as a community we don’t do death particularly well, and we do it even less well with our children. She has since published ‘The Present Box Book’, a children’s picture book explaining death grief loss and dying to children.

Michelle is also a passionate public speaker.

If you would like to keep abreast of how she is moving and shaking things up in the industry you can follow her Facebook page or subscribe to her YouTube Channel, where she features her monthly ‘Conversations about Death’ interviews.

She is on a mission to change the way we approach death as a community, and to encourage us all to have the conversation no one is having! Because, at the end of the day, as Michelle says- 'we are all just walking each other home'.

If that all doesn’t keep her busy enough, Michelle is the proud Mum of 5 young men, and a Wife to her very patient, gracious and supportive Husband Richard. She believes that life is not a dress rehearsal, and that we only get one shot at it, so she chooses to live a life that makes her leap out of bed every single day.

When asked how she juggles everything in her organised chaotic life, her response is often ‘I can sleep when I’m dead’.'

Helen Roberts- Death Doula and End of Life Guide.

Dying and death has a been part of Helens life for a long time. She is comfortable with discussions around the process of dying and also comfortable to be with those who are dying or who have died and their families, through her role as a Death Doula and End of Life Guide.

She believes our culture has developed a fear of dying and death for many reasons. These include our attachment to youth and our denial of ageing . The advances and changes in health care have pushed death mostly into the sterile rooms of hospitals. We deny death as a normal part of daily life as it once was many years ago.

Helen believes we need to bring death back into our lives and accept death as a normal human experience not a medical event.

She has 30 years of nursing experience, most of those years spent in Paediatric Intensive Care nursing. She has borne witness to the dying process many times and gently encouraged families to care for their children after death. It has always been a privilege for her to serve these families at this time.

Dying can be many things, a time of healing and love, emotional, spiritual and physical pain. In our modern world physical pain can usually be relieved. Emotional and spiritual pain however is not often recognised or spoken of. This is a tragedy because one of the greatest analgesics for emotional pain is the simple act of genuine listening.

As someone who cares deeply, but is outside of the family system, Helen brings a stable, grounded and compassionate presence to the confusion at this time. She is also a home volunteer with Palliative Care.

It is her wish for us all to embrace and accept our own deaths and in doing so live more meaning lives.