A Certified End of Life Specialist or Death Doula is a professional, not always medical, who is usually educated past the post secondary education level on topics of death and end of life pursuits. He or she helps an individual achieve his or her most optimal end of life experience possible.

This Certified End of Life specialist is professionally trained to know and believes that there is value in planning, and as need revisiting and revising advanced directive and vigil plans for clients. Research supports the importance of Advanced Care Planning at the bedside for many members of our population. This level of planning allows for individuals to have the most control and autonomy over their end of life experience as possible and permit for as peaceful and uneventful passing.

Sarah also believes in working interpersonally with her clients to demystify many aspects of the death experience. She pulls from over 4 years of medical and palliative experience as she does so gently and compassionately with an understanding that life threatening injury and illness and end of life stages of being can be exceptionally destabilizing.

A side and sort of fun element to her experience is her profound understanding that the best healing is not done alone. Sarah works, often on a volunteer basis with a certified therapy animal to ease social isolation and is pleased to continue to do so. Bella is a 20 month old, highly intelligent and intuitive Collie mix.

Largely, this answer depends upon the specialty they provide. A Certified End of Life Specialist providing Respite Care or Coaching for the Elder population may receive a salary of of $25-$35 per hour. One providing consultation or planning services might receive a salary of $100 per hour. Death Doulas holding vigil for days on end may achieve incomes of thousands of dollars a day.

The most accurate competitive quote this company could find was for a death doula company in Toronto which charges $100 per hour.

Depending on his or her training a certified end of life specialist or death doula might provide elder care support in the form of respite care, life coaching for those nearing the end of life or at life transitional phases closer to the end of life, grief counsellor, home funerals. He or she may also specialize in post mortem care of the home and belongings, estate care or work with individuals on legacy and life projects. Some even work with the loss and working with achieving closure because of the loss of our beloved furry ones.

A Vigil, or standing Vigil, or partaking in vigiling is the act of holding sacred space and time while someone prepares to transition from life on Earth to a state of no longer being on Earth.

The most active state of a vigil takes place when someone is no longer able to speak or talk and perhaps is only able to sense and hear that his or her loved ones are around him/her. This is the stage where a vigil plan is most important to have for healthcare providers and loved ones to ensure that the individual’s own wishes (written down in the vigil plan) are honoured throughout his/her passing.