- Diana Griebell is a certified death doula providing support to people nearing death since 2020
- She founded Tranquil Transitioning to assist dying individuals and their families through end-of-life
- Death doulas offer emotional and physical comfort similar to birth doulas but for end-of-life care
A woman in the United States is helping people and families during the final stages of life by working as a death doula, a non-medical professional who provides emotional and physical support to people nearing death. Diana Griebell, who became a certified death doula in 2020, said her work focuses on creating a peaceful and comforting environment for people at the end of their lives, reported People.com.
Griebell, 57, recently studied at the Rutgers School of Social Work in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she earned a master's degree in social work along with a certification in aging and health. In 2021, she founded Tranquil Transitioning to support dying individuals and their loved ones through the end-of-life process.
According to Rutgers, death doulas work in a similar way to birth doulas, but instead of helping during childbirth, they support people who are approaching death.
Speaking about changing attitudes toward death, Griebell explained that in earlier times, people often died at home in the presence of family and friends. She said death was once a normal part of everyday life, but as healthcare became more advanced, it became more separated from daily experiences. She added that many people now try to shield themselves and children from death, which often leaves dying people feeling isolated when they need support the most.
Griebell said she herself was unfamiliar with death doulas until she had a powerful experience in 2018. At the time, she accompanied her then-16-year-old daughter to a memory care facility where her daughter played the harp for residents.
During one visit, a staff member asked them to sit with a woman who was dying alone. Griebell recalled that she had never seen someone dying before. She said they sat quietly in the woman's room while her daughter played music, and a staff member held the woman's hand and spoke softly to her with kind and comforting words.
Griebell said the moment felt deeply meaningful and peaceful. She added that it changed the way she viewed death and made her realise it could be a beautiful experience instead of something frightening.
Before entering this field, Griebell worked in insurance and real estate and is also a mother of two. She said the experience at the care facility changed her life, and her daughter later encouraged her to become a death doula.
Griebell explained that she had always been curious about death from a young age and once considered working in the funeral industry. However, she said she never had the courage to pursue such a path until the opportunity naturally came into her life.
She was further inspired by helping a neighbour named Mia, who had terminal cancer and lacked nearby family support after the death of her husband. Along with another neighbour, Sally, Griebell helped Mia by driving her to medical appointments and assisting with daily tasks she was too weak to handle herself.
