How to Start Your Death Doula Practice

Name: How to Start Your Death Doula Practice
Rating: 3.0 (1 reviews)

A step-by-step introduction to launching your Death Doula practice with clarity, confidence, and heart-led structure.

Created byAmy-Lynne Mahon

Last updated 6/2025

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Clarify your mission, values, and calling as a death doula stepping into practice.
Explore your potential scope of services and identify how you can meet real community needs.
Begin shaping service ideas, boundaries, and offerings aligned with your energy and capacity.
Understand the foundational mindset shifts required to build an ethical, sustainable, and heart-centered doula practice.

Course content

5 sections • 16 lectures • 31m total length

Welcome Workbook: Business Essentials for Death Doulas0:11
Before we begin, take time to land. This workbook invites you to reflect on what drew you to doula work, how you define success, and the mindset you want to carry through the course.
This is your personal space to write, wonder, and clarify your intentions — no one else is looking. You can print it or fill it out digitally.
Define Your Doula Practice & Personal Mission7:08
In this foundational video, we will explore what motivates your doula work, how your personal values shape your practice, and how to define your scope with clarity and confidence. You’ll begin identifying where your strengths meet the needs around you.
Mission & Values Reflections Worksheet0:09
This worksheet invites you to connect with your deepest motivations. You’ll clarify your core values and begin shaping the foundation of a practice that feels aligned, grounded, and meaningful.
Skills Inventory & Community Needs Mapping0:08
Take stock of your natural gifts and explore where they can meet real-world needs. This two-part worksheet guides you through identifying your skills — and mapping out service gaps in your community where a doula could make a powerful impact.

Design Your Services & Packages6:13
This video walks you through how to transform your skills and insights into clearly defined services. You’ll explore different business models, time boundaries, and ethical ways to package your offerings.
Core Services Brainstorm Worksheet0:08
Begin shaping your core offerings with clarity. This worksheet helps you define specific services you feel called to provide — whether it’s vigil planning, legacy work, caregiver support, or end-of-life education.
Pricing & Time Boundary Self-Check0:10
Explore how your time, energy, and values can guide your pricing and availability. This self-check helps you create fair, sustainable boundaries that honor both your needs and those of your future clients.

Set Healthy Boundaries & Agreements5:52
In this video, we explore how to hold clear, compassionate boundaries — and how written agreements can build trust while protecting your energy. You’ll learn practical strategies for navigating common challenges in doula-client relationships.
Boundary Language Practice Sheet0:10
Finding the right words matters. This tool offers sample scripts and practice prompts to help you express your boundaries with kindness and confidence — even in difficult moments.
Service Agreements Overview0:10
A well-crafted service agreement doesn’t just protect your business — it creates safety, clarity, and mutual respect for your clients. This brief overview outlines the key elements of a strong doula-client agreement, with example language and tips for compassionate communication.
This is your starting point. The complete, customizable template (plus a real-world example) is available in the full IEOLCA Business Essentials program.
Use this guide to begin thinking about how you'll clearly define your scope, set expectations, and hold healthy, heart-centered boundaries.

Connect With Clients & Communities6:27
This video explores how to talk about your work, grow your visibility, and build meaningful professional relationships. You’ll learn how to share your message in a way that feels natural, ethical, and grounded in service.
Messaging Worksheet0:10
Craft your personal introduction — both a short version for casual conversations and a longer version for your website or printed materials. This worksheet helps you speak about your work with heart and clarity.
Outreach & Referral Starter Kit0:07
This kit includes sample outreach scripts and a referral checklist to help you start connecting with local hospice teams, home care providers, therapists, and others. Use it to begin building relationships in your care community.

Launch With Intention4:36
In this final video, we bring everything together. You’ll create a personal launch plan, reflect on your next steps, and explore what it means to build a sustainable, purpose-driven doula practice.
Gentle Practice Launch Planner0:10
This simple 90-day planner helps you set clear, compassionate goals. You’ll outline actionable steps, track your progress, and stay anchored in your values as you begin offering your work to the world.
Take the Next Step: Enroll in the Complete Business Essentials Program (PDF)0:10
Breakdown of what’s included in the full Business Essentials program at ieolca.org.

Requirements

This course is designed for trained or certified end-of-life doulas — or those in the process of certification — who are exploring how to begin offering doula services professionally. No prior business experience is required. Just bring your compassion, your curiosity, and your desire to serve.

Description

You’ve completed your training. You feel called to this work. But how do you actually begin?

This gentle, empowering course is designed for trained or certified death doulas who are ready to take the next step: building a heart-centered, sustainable doula business rooted in clarity, purpose, and care.

Whether you're hoping to serve your community part-time or launch a full private practice, this course provides the foundation you need to move forward with confidence.

Through five short, thoughtful video modules, you’ll explore how to:

Define your mission, values, and scope of practice
Design services that reflect your unique gifts and your community’s needs
Set clear, compassionate time boundaries and write service agreements
Communicate your offerings with confidence and clarity
Take your first steps toward launching a sustainable doula practice

You’ll also receive a printable Welcome Workbook and select planning tools to help you reflect, brainstorm, and shape your next steps with intention.

This course includes the full video curriculum — but does not include the 145-page Business Essentials Guidebook or the full Resource Companion. Those are available in the complete IEOLCA Business Essentials for Death Doulas Program.

Created by the International End-of-Life Care Association (IEOLCA), a globally respected leader in doula education, this course stands on its own — and also serves as a bridge into deeper training.

Whether you're starting a death doula business or simply seeking your next step, this course will help you begin with structure, heart, and purpose.

You don’t have to be perfect to be of service. You just have to begin. Let’s start here.

Who this course is for:

This course is for death doulas, hospice volunteers, and soul-led caregivers who feel called to build a real-world practice — but need support turning that calling into clear services, confident messaging, and sustainable structure. It’s ideal for those who’ve completed doula training (from IEOLCA or another program) and are now asking: “How do I actually begin?” Whether you hope to offer your work part-time or step fully into your doula role, this course provides a grounded, empowering starting point.

How to Start Your Death Doula Practice

What you'll learn

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Course content

Define Your Doula Practice & Personal Mission4 lectures • 8min

Design Your Services & Packages3 lectures • 7min

Set Healthy Boundaries & Agreements3 lectures • 6min

Connect With Clients & Communities3 lectures • 7min

Launch With Intention3 lectures • 5min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: