End of Life Doula
My unique gift of compassionate care
My vision is to walk with you on your journey and empower you by providing connection, choice and care.
My own personal story of loss and grief brings a unique perspective and experience into the precious journey that life is. With a background as a Meditation Teacher, I am grounded, calm and approach life and death with grace. Love, connection, and spiritual insight combined with practical and compassionate care are my unique gifts that I bring to my work and clients.
I am a qualified End of Life Doula having completed the Government Accredited Certificate IV in End of Life Doula Services in conjunction with Preparing The Way and Essential Skills, Training and Recruitment. I am an independent Funeral Celebrant having completed training with the Celebrants Training College. I am also a trained Holistic Funeral Director and offer these services within Natural Grace Australia.
Prior to becoming an End of Life Doula, I worked in the Early Childhood Industry for over 30 years and continue to be an advocate for inclusion. I have excellent communication and planning skills, experience in establishing and fostering relationships, and an understanding of many cultures and their traditions. I also have experience in supporting individuals with a disability, and an innate ability to connect with families and children to offer the intuitive care, support and reassurance needed to navigate end of life, grief and bereavement.
I have recently combined my skills to provide training, education and support for educators within the Early Childhood field who are including families and children who have experienced grief and loss.
I am a member of the Holistic End of Life and Death Care Australia Association (HELD), as well as the Natural Death Advocacy Network (NDAN) and Newcastle Compassionate Community.
I have completed a Police Check, Working with Children Check, NDIS Worker Check, hold Public Liability and Indemnity Insurance, and have completed Orientation Modules to work with National Disability Insurance Scheme clients as well as Aged Care clients.
I live in beautiful Lake Macquarie and am available to work across the Hunter and Central Coast regions and further afield on request. Support is available face to face, online and by phone. I look forward to hearing from you.
SHARING MY STORY
Symbolic Meaning of the Dragonfly
The dragonfly spirit animal is symbolic of transformation, change, joy and lightness in self-realization. This really resonates deeply with me and the heart centred work that I do as an End of Life Doula.
By Walter Dudley Cavertn
The Dragonfly Story
In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him.
Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise.
Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him, they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number. The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist.