End-of-Life Doula care can look like:
Organization of end-of-life plans and health care directives - How do I get my affairs in order? what is the next step?
Support individuals in processing medical diagnoses - What does this mean? What do I do next?
Provide health care system navigation support - What do these services provide? What is right for me?
Educate on end-of-life options and choices - What feels best and most authentically my choice?
Provide guidance on sitting vigil and being present at the end-of-life - What is normal? How can I be involved?
Demystify the dying processes with grounded information - Supporting the care team in all the ways, getting through the hard days together
Offer rituals such as post death vigil and Ritual Bathing and Shrouding for emotional and spiritual support - What can we do to bring sacredness to this space and process, honoring what it is.
Plan farewell events and ceremonies - Living Funerals, Goodbye events - Can we continue to honor this life in a thoughtful way?
End-of-Life Doula support
When we turn towards and choose to be with the dying process there is potential in creating a meaningful, heartfelt journey. As an end-of-life doula, I facilitate that “turning-towards,” providing a steady, compassionate presence for the community. By educating on care options, bridging gaps with the medical system, offering spiritual and psychological support and demystifying the dying process, I offer a grounded container to be within as the dying person and their loved ones move through this massive transition, together.
Post Death Vigil
When a loved one dies, even with preparation, it can be a shock to have them leave the environment. First we watch our loved one die, then we have to physically say goodbye to their body.
With the growing trend of delayed funerals or direct cremation, we are experiencing long gaps between the death of our loved one and the events that gather people to celebrate them.
The time between death and when your loved one is transported is sacred and precious. Creating a post death vigil allows everyone the opportunity to pause, to slow down, to have ceremony or reflection, receive support in this liminal space, and to offer reverence for this sacred time of transition.
Ritual Bathing and Shrouding - A Last Act of Care
Ritual bathing and shrouding is one of the oldest human rituals, with almost every religion and indigenous population practicing a version of this sacred process. Linen, hides and cotton are materials that have been used to shroud for hundreds of years. We bathe the body in floral essences and shroud the body, wrapping it for protection, utility and spiritual reverence in preparation for burial or cremation. An opportunity for the community to give a last act of care and gratitude, collectively preparing for our loved ones' next journey.
“I believe the dying person is a whole universe. All the intricacies that have made up a person, and a life, need to be supported and honored in the process of dying and transition.”
Sula Johnson
Sula is a life-long student of Tibetan Buddhism and has a background in event planning and cultural programming. Formerly a political advisor in Canada with the Ministry of the Status of Women, and COO of Rachel Cargle’s The Loveland Group, Sula is passionate about honoring the lives of people and all they move through in life.
An end-of-life doula since 2017, Sula has completed training and certification with The School of Traditional Medicine in Toronto, The Open center in NYC, and D-School with Martha Jo-Atkin. With a focus on home funerals and shrouding practices, her passion is creating reverence and ritual for us to be with and in transition, together.
Sula Johnson is the founder of Peacing Out and part of a growing movement of doulas, caregivers, and officiants looking to transform our relationship with death. She works with both individuals and their families as they navigate the dying process and offers emotional, spiritual, and logistical support. She also works with companies and organizations to create programming and experiences that explore our mortality and give us expressions for our grief. Through workshop facilitation and one-on-one time with people, she creates spaces to thoughtfully explore end-of-life contemplations, planning and ceremony.
She Mothers, works and lives in Brooklyn, NY and serves in person within Brooklyn and Manhattan. She offers virtual care to all.
“Dying is far more than a medical event — it is a profound human experience. That’s why I accompany the dying and the grieving as they navigate this tender transition, offering presence, support, and reverence. I hold space for the emotional, spiritual, and relational complexities of this time, honoring the whole being in the process of letting go.”