​WHAT IS DEATH CARE? WHY WOULD I NEED A DEATH CARE WORKER?

HISTORY

In birth midwifery, a profession called a Doula emerged out of the home birth movement. A Doula is a non-clinical support worker at a birth. The word Doula is a Greek term for a female servant, conveying the idea that in many cultures a supportive woman helps with births.

A Death Doula provides a similar role around dying and death. We are also called Death Midwives, and other names. I chose the name Death Care Worker because in New Zealand the concept of a Doula is new, and because Midwifery is a certified profession I cannot claim. Whoever we are, we wish to provide holistic, non-medical, emotional, spiritual and practical support for the dying, those who have died, and their whanau and families. Here is a link to some definitions and history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_midwife
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I consider death to be the release of love, and I wish to work for a loving and safe farewell  to those of us who die and their families.  

​ABOUT KAREN EFFIE

I am led by a dream, literally. I used to work in a hospital, and I dreamed that during a night shift I was introduced to the thousands of ghosts of the hospital, and asked by their representatives to care for them.
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Through the deaths of friends, my parents, and numerous babies when I worked in a Neonatal Unit many years ago, I began to walk consciously with death. I found ways of channelling the grief of others. I was privileged to stand at the gate as both my parents died. I tried to tell the stories of these deaths with honour and truthfulness. By the time I had the dream about the hospital ghosts, I had researched and developed and begun the work of the heart.  I have worked as a caregiver with the elderly in their homes and in rest homes, and wanted so much to help them and their families speak openly about their futures. I began to think of myself as a Death Care Worker.
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QUALIFICATIONS

​I have a Diploma of Social Work, although I am not a Registered Social Worker. I have a Certificate of Adult Teaching. I have also trained in Shamanic journeying and healing with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.  My blog posts outline some of my professional experiences. 

DYING AND DEATH CARE IN NEW ZEALAND

We don’t always die well in our culture. If you are reading this, you will probably share my hunch about this. We flatten death out, we ask no questions of it, we reduce it, we even deny it. Our language about death has become impoverished, through euphemism and lack of use.
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Death ceremony in New Zealand has undergone many changes. Among Pakeha, there is a move towards more personalised ceremonies. Maori tangihanga ideas are spreading into other cultures. We now talk about home funerals and eco-burials. We have more choices now, but we are often regrettably unaware of them.  Here are some perfectly legal options:

- Keeping the beloved who has died, at home
- Home funerals
- ​​Doing your own legal paperwork
​- Eco-burials in some places
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There is a gentle but exciting alternative/conscious death movement in New Zealand and I am pleased to join it as a Death Care Worker.  I am happy to link you in with change makers and supporters.