Human nature
Doula vs. Coach: What’s the Difference?
Doulas vs Coaches: Similarities, Differences, and Why It Matters Last week, I was a guest on a podcast (one of many coming up—I’ll be sure to share them as they air), and I had the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite topics: doulas. I love discussing what is a doula, what does a…
Read MoreTeaching Hate is Child Abuse
How Children Learn to Hate Long before learning the ABCs, 1+1=2, and “Share your toys,” children learn how to be a human from the people around them. If we’re not careful — or worse, if it’s intentional — children also learn to hate. So let’s call out this insidious form of assault: teaching hate is…
Read MoreThe Felt Sense of Doula Work
In addition to my doula work, I am a copywriter for a continuing education platform for psychotherapists. In my role, I meet many expert therapists who are offering courses and I learn about their work. So far, I’ve learned about: How I Learned About Felt Sense A few weeks ago, I was interviewing one of…
Read MoreSetting Goals by Writing Your Own WHAT?!?!
Goal Setting In last week’s vlog, I wrote about mission statements. One of the things about a mission statement is it doesn’t include goals. A mission statement should not be specific, measurable, or time-bound. Its point is to be lofty and paint a picture of what you are working toward. But this week, I am…
Read MoreGetting Started and Finding My Voice
This is my journey of finding my voice in a society that silences women, starting with my mother’s subtle but unsuccessful rebellion. How do you bring an idea to life if your passions are silenced? Dedicated to my mom. My mom was born in 1929, when women weren’t known for having their voices heard.…
Read MoreDecision-Making Part 2: Tools
Part 2 In a 3-Part Series In last week’s blog, I shared about decision-making and how it’s not what we think it is. In this blog, I share about various decision making models doulas can use when supporting their clients. We tend to think decision-making is very logical, analytical, and reasoned. But it’s almost the…
Read MoreDecision-Making Part 1: Faking You Out Big Time!
A new series of blogs on how we make decisions I read a newsletter article this week by Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs. It was called “Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions.” It’s all about how the brain makes decisions. Her article reminded me that I wanted to blog about decision-making in birth, so…
Read MoreNeuroplasticity: Our Brains Are Like Clay
Neuroplasciticy is the brain’s ability to rewire, heal, and overcome trauma. As doulas, we help prevent trauma and help people process traumatic experiences. Understanding neuroplasticity will help us see why doulas are so effective. I received so many comments after my last blog about our families of origin, their impact (good and not-so-good) on who…
Read MoreFamilies: How Babies Learn to Be Human
Do you ever think about how babies learn how to…well…be human? I do all the time. With a background in Sociology, I’ve been a people watcher all my life and one of my favorite pasttimes is trying to figure out how and why people do the things they do. Turns out families are the training…
Read MoreHow We Learn: Doula Training Styles
I’ve been thinking lately about how humans learn and how that influences my doula training styles. I’ve always been interested in learning and teaching. When I was a kid, I would play school for hours. I loved school and did really well, in large part becuase I was the perfect candidate for the U.S.-based educational…
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