Death is the only guarantee in life, yet we talk about and plan for it the least.Â
Death is a Rite of Passage. It's time we treat it like one. Death doula services can help.
Death Doula and End of Life Planning Services
Hi, I'm Karla. Death Care Professional serving Victoria BC and surrounding areas.
As a licensed Funeral Director, I’ve witnessed both the heartbreak of uncertainty and the power of informed choices. As a Death Doula I help individuals and their families navigate end-of-life planning with clarity, courage, and grace.
This work is my calling. I'm so glad you're here.
Karla
Prepare
If you're ready to face death with intention, I’m here for you. Together we can create a plan that ensures that your people are supported and your values are honoured. Services include:
- Practical planning: get your ducks in a row with an organized, comprehensive and accurate system.
- Cremation or green burial pre-planning with Earth's Option
- Support for meaningful family conversations
- Emotional readiness and intention setting.
Workplace Workshops
If your staff are navigating conversations about death, dying and grief, I'm here to help. Through practical, engaging, in-person workshops, I equip teams with the knowledge, skills and confidence to better support the people they already serve. Workshops include:
- When Words Are Hard: Build confidence in navigating conversations about death, grief and loss.
- Before the Crisis: Understand end-of-life planning, available choices and trusted local resources.
- Grief Doesn't Clock Out: Learn practical ways to support grief and loss in the workplace.
Say Goodbye
There’s no one right way to say goodbye: an intentional farewell before you go, a solemn gathering after death, and/or a celebration with music and laughter. We’ll co-create something meaningful, and most importantly, authentic.
Services include:
- Living Farewell
- MAiD day Rite of Passage
- Post-death goodbye, a space to express and witness grief
- Re-do, is there a loss that wasn’t marked or wasn’t marked well? You can redo it.
For Aspiring Death Doulas
Exploratory sessions for people drawn to death work.
- Real talk about what it means to serve in this space: emotional labour, boundaries, and burnout
- Support for figuring out your path and where to begin
- Network of other death-caring folks
Frequently Asked Questions
Just as birth doulas support new life labouring into the world, death doulas provide support for those labouring out of the world. We offer practical, emotional, and experienced support not only for the dying person but also for their family.
I facilitate meaningful, inclusive conversations about end-of-life planning, helping individuals and families make informed choices. Education empowers loved ones to honour wishes with confidence, rather than guess.
We start with a conversation to understand your needs, answer your questions and identify what's important to you. From there, we'll work together to explore your options, make informed decisions and create a practical plan for the future.
Whether you're planning ahead for yourself, navigating a recent diagnosis or helping a loved one get organized, I provide clear information, guidance and support with end-of-life planning, including funeral pre-arrangements. When additional legal, financial, medical or community support is needed, I can connect you with trusted professionals and resources.
My approach is personal, practical and pressure-free. You don't need to have all the answers before we meet. That's what our conversation is for.
Practical, engaging, in-person training that equips your staff with the knowledge, skills and confidence to better support the people they already serve. Whether navigating conversations about death and grief, answering end-of-life planning questions or supporting colleagues through loss, each workshop offers real-world insights, useful tools and meaningful conversation. Workshops are available as half-day sessions or shorter Lunch & Learns and can be tailored to your team's needs.
$195 for 1.5 hr in-person, end-of-life preparation session including The Empowered Estate planner.
$125/hour for individual and follow up sessions.
Workplace Workshops:
Lunch & Learn (1 hour):Â $400
Half-Day Workshop (4 hours): $1,250
Workshops include engaging discussion, real-world insights and practical tools your staff can put to use right away.
Customized sessions and training outside Greater Victoria are quoted individually.
Please be in touch and we'll find the right fit for your organization.
No, I hope you’ll meet with me sooner! Discussions surrounding end of life wishes can be ongoing because wishes and feelings change. My mission is to empower families to have these conversations together. I have witnessed the heartaches of families left to navigating the death of a loved one based on guessing and instinct alone. I think families can be more present in life, illness and death when they have given some forward thought together.
It is not uncommon to prefer someone other than family to step in to protect your wishes. In the event that a person cannot make health decisions for themselves, there is a standard, government dictated list of who has the right to make decisions on your behalf. That person is called your Temporary Substitute Decision Maker and you can find the list here in order of authority. If you are not comfortable with that designated person making decisions on your behalf, you can fill out a Representation Agreement to name the person of your choosing (with their consent). This can be useful if you do not wish your spouse to have to make decisions on your behalf and prefer a trusted friend. Or if you are closer with your chosen family rather than your family of origin.
Doing Death Different
Marketplace
We are challenging the status quo around death and grief. This is a gathering of death-caring folks who are doing things a little differently. We are engaging with death in ways that feel authentic, courageous and connected. This event showcases the wonderful and alternative deathcare supports available on Vancouver Island.