End of Life Companion

I am a Holistic End of Life Companion, working with people at end of life or who have life limiting illness, and their families, providing gentle support to facilitate a peaceful dying process.

I have attended an End of Life Skills Workshop and a SAGE & THYME Communication Skills Workshop which is a listening and responding to people who are worried or distressed. I have also completed a Level 3 End of Life Therapy Diploma (sponsored by East Cheshire Hospice)

 

What Is a Holistic End of Life Companion?

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An End of Life Companion is someone who works holistically with people who are at the end of their lives. They are specifically a non medical, holistic companion who guides and supports the dying in order to facilitate a gentle and peaceful death. We can be from any walk of life – they do not need to be a nurse or have nursing skills – they are carers, holistic therapists, healers, teachers and people who are already helping loved ones at the end of their lives.

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I am trained in a variety of holistic and therapeutic techniques to ensure loving and compassionate care at all times. I can use sound, colour, touch and smell and other gentle techniques to help alleviate pain and anxiety, but really, often nothing is required but a loving presence and a listening ear. I can help with releasing techniques, visualisation, breathing techniques and meditation.

I LISTEN…

 

One of the most important things we can do is LISTEN… and hold the space for the dying person, to provide comfort and continuous support and reassurance in helping a dying person to experience the death they want.

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I not only help with the holistic aspect, but on a practical level I can help create memory books and death plans. Using my skills I developed at Citizens Advice, I can help with sign posting, navigating the confusion that surrounds death and the dying process, before, during and after.  I can be called in by the family or the dying person themselves at any stage. I provide support not just for the dying person but also the families and loved ones.  As a fully qualified holistic therapist, Reiki healer (to level 2) and holistic pain management practitioner, I utilise all of the skills and therapies that I have at my disposal into my End of Life Skills practice. 

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I work wherever I am needed, within the home, hospitals, hospices and care homes.  Years ago people were born and died at home… often there was a community wise woman, who helped with all the births and deaths. Families and the community cared for the sick and the dying, supporting one another ..these processes were (and ARE) a natural part of living.  When we are dying, we are transitioning. Dying is the one of the certainties we have in life, the one thing that unites us and binds us all together. 

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I began my journey into being an End of Life Companion a few years ago when I was volunteering at the local hospice and realised that patients were discussing their closest fears and wishes about dying.  It made me think of how I wanted my dying to be!  I have been with patients that took their last breath and I feel that it is a great honour and privilege to sit with someone as they leave this world.

 

It is possible to have a “good” death. Knowledge is power, and I believe in empowering people to make informed choices, not only about their lives, but their deaths, and how they die. Over the year’s those skills have been lost and we are now all so afraid of getting old, sick, and dying. There is nothing “special” about being an End of Life Companion, it is with my best interest to give people the confidence and skills to be able to sit with and help their own loved ones at end of life, rather than give away that power to others. There is nothing to fear if we have the knowledge, and support.