60 | What is a Death Doula? | Henry Fersko-Weiss

In this connected conversation with Henry Fersko-Weiss, the creator of the first End-of-Life Doula program in the United States, we discuss what it means to be a Death Doula. Rather than focus on the technical services a Death Doula can provide, Henry and I dive into the spiritual and generational support that can come from this uniquely powerful role in the dying person's life. We talk about legacy work, about agency in the dying process, and about why and when you might want to hire a Death Doula. In addition, Henry and I speak at length about the Death Doula training and how going through it has helped me and so many others to live life more meaningfully, gratefully, and expansively. Henry Fersko-Weiss is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) as well as a death doula. He has worked with hundreds of dying individuals and their loved ones as a hospice social worker, volunteer coordinator, and manager. As a doula he has been at the bedside of a great many people as they journeyed through the dying process. He has also maintained a private practice for 25 years, focused on helping people face death and grieve their losses. In 2003, while working at a large hospice in New York City, Henry created the first end-of-life doula program in the U.S. to serve people in the months before death, through the final days of life, and to guide loved ones into the early days of their grief. The training he developed then was based on what he learned from birth doulas and his experience with the dying. Henry is the author of Finding Peace at the End of Life, A Death Doula’s Guide for Families and Caregivers. Henry has a number of trainings coming up which can be found on his site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lara Land is a trauma-informed yoga teacher trainer, mindfulness coach, death doula, forest therapist, and crisis counselor. Follow Lara: Website / Instagram. Lara is leading her next trauma-informed yoga teacher training through the nonprofit Three and a Half Acres Yoga virtually from 9/27-9/29. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.

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