Grieving Ukrainians Turn to ‘Death Doulas’ for Support

Oleksandra Nekipelova sat down at a desk in her apartment, lit a small candle and opened her computer to join a video call.

“Tell me, please, what would you like to talk about this time?” Ms. Nekipelova asked. Valeriia Korotchenko, her client, responded that she was feeling “fundamentally powerless against the war” launched by Russia on Ukraine. Near-daily Russian air attacks had made destruction and death a new normal in her life, she said.

“I lose faith that I will ever be able to live peacefully,” Ms. Korotchenko told Ms. Nekipelova, who lives in Lviv, Ukraine.

Ms. Nekipelova is a “death doula,” a professional whose job is to support and guide people who are coping with an acute sense of grief or facing death — their own or those of their loved ones. Unlike psychotherapists, death doulas do not typically try to fix mental health issues. They do not offer medical care or therapy. Instead, their work is focused on offering support and compassion.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the work of death doulas has grown in Ukraine, a country where death has become a daily reality for many, whether through the distant news of a relative killed in battle or the not-so-distant thud of a missile smashing into an apartment building.