Hi I’m Paula,
I’ve recently finished my foundation Doula training and I’m looking forward to growing my learning, working through the diploma and in real life learning. I come from a background as an End of Life carer, I felt truly blessed and honoured to help support people and their families through this last journey. It was whilst working with people and their loved ones when facing their end of life I realised that we were missing some integral pieces in the way we do this. People needed that personal touch, someone who could hold space for them, a compassionate person who could empathise with not only the individual but also their loved ones to offer comfort and support. Someone who could help create a safe and supportive environment to listen without judgement and facilitate open and honest conversations and support them through advance planning. Someone who had a knowledge of End of Life processes and could offer a reassuring presence for the individual and their loved ones, alongside being there for the more practical things that are maybe struggling to get done, like walking the dog, hoovering or preparing a meal. This made me look at how we do End of Life care and death in general as a society, looking for a more holistic way where we don’t only focus on the physical but also focus on the emotional and spiritual (if wanted) needs of the individual too. I believe this gap can be filled with an End of Life Doula. This need became more apparent to me when I helped to care for my dad at his end of life, when he received his terminal diagnosis he changed and went from being strong and carefree to physically weakened and emotionally struggling with anxiety and depression and although he was receiving care from his specialist nurses he really benefited from having compassionate support to talk to, to empower him to make educated choices, to allow him to have whatever feelings were arising and hold space for these. I also noticed the benefit of having someone who could be the link between all the different medical, legal and social care departments. As a family at a time when we were feeling lost and overwhelmed we would have benefited from having someone who could support us through the formalities at death, arranging a funeral and dealing with my dads estate, I now more than ever believe a Doula can bring all of the missing pieces together and be that empowering companion. If you feel like I am the right person for you and your loved ones, feel free to call, to chat and get to know one another and I would be honoured to walk alongside you. I live in Plymouth but would be happy to commute within reason if needed.