Companioning Skills for Home Funeral Guides

2019 Webinar Now Available for All

Amy Wright Glenn is a birth doula, yoga instructor, chaplain, and the author of the book “Holding Space: On Loving, Dying and Letting Go.” The NHFA was delighted to host the webinar “Companioning Skills for Home Funeral Guides” on August 21, 2019 with Amy. And we are happy to announce that this webinar is now available to the general public!

In this hour-long discussion, Amy shares the basics of what it means to “hold space” for others and how that contrasts with helping and companioning. Drawing from sources like Dr. Alan Wolfelt, Susan Silk, and her hospital chaplain mentor, she describes variations in grief journeys and how we can be present with people in their darkest times.

In addition, she highlights how home vigils, home funerals, and spending time with the dead can help us slow down and bear witness to the sacred link between generations as we experience the threshold points of birth and death that tie us together. Companioning without an agenda or hierarchy allows guides and helpers to “respect disorder” instead of trying to impose order on the profound feelings of loss grievers experience.

She also shares methods for deep listening and drawing more from those we companion. These skills help empower grievers to make meaning of their loss in the right way for them, without the imposition of the companion’s values or beliefs. Finally, she shares methods for drawing boundaries, regulating our own emotional output, and appropriately utilizing self-care strategies to process our feelings as companions.

We are extremely grateful to Amy for sharing her time and wisdom with our members. Amy is extending scholarship rate to all members of NHFA who would like membership in the Institute for Birth, Breath and Death.

We hope you enjoy reviewing this valuable webinar! 
-Angela Woosley

Scholarship Details