Winding Down and Winding Back Up
Whether this year is the very start of your doula career or whether it’s a new chapter in your continuing story, the work you do with your clients is going to be unique. No two doulas are the same, and no two clients are the same. The thing we all have in common is a desire to serve our clients and our communities.
Gearing Up for 2026
The start of a new year is always a great time for new beginnings, and in 2026 the plan is for IDLM to start big and then keep getting bigger. We are so proud and grateful to be celebrating five whole years of teaching, care, and community, and we are so glad to have you here as a part of that.
The Spooky Side of the Season
As a holiday, Christmas has been around for centuries. But if you go back more than a hundred years you’ll find that the day used to be observed with a much more somber tone.
Caring for the Caretakers
We all know the importance of self care. Part of client care is making sure that the people who are caring for their loved ones have the time and the opportunity to care for themselves as well, whether that means getting away for an afternoon to do some shopping or just a couple of hours to get a decent meal and a nap.
Halloween Through History
This Halloween, or maybe the next day, take some time to reflect on the real reason for the season. All those spooky skeletons and ghosts aren’t just coming back for a party, they’re here to remind us that someday, each and every one of us is going to join them.
Spotlight on Catherine, Your Death Project Manager
Even for doulas, advance care plans aren’t everyone’s strong suit. But this stuff is too important not to know! Fortunately IDLM has regular advance care planning classes taught by the fabulous Miss Pam Carter, and on top of that we are proud to be partnered with the Death Project Manager, an expert in helping you get organized in preparation for end of life.
Playing the Long Game
In many places, death work is still not normalized. The problem isn’t that people don’t want or need the services of a death doula; it’s that they have never heard of a death doula in the first place. Nobody they know has ever hired a death doula. Why should they?
My Favorite Mantras
I don’t know how many mantras a person is allowed to have but I sure do hope it’s more than one, because I personally have at least a couple dozen, some of which I have already shared with you right here on the IDLM blog.
Peering Beyond the Veil
Here’s something you might not know: Arthur Conan Doyle, the author who created the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, was a big fan of going to seances. He was not only a follower but a spokesperson for a movement that began in the 1890s called Spiritualism, which reached its height in the late 1910s and […]
It May Be Routine For You, But It’s All New to Them
As a doula, you should be paying close attention to what is going on with your client families as the patient goes through their transition. The concerns they have can only be addressed if someone knows what those concerns are.
