About Us
Doulaing as a Transformative Experience
As doulas, we are granted the incredible task of ushering parents into a new life through practical problem solving, emotional and physical support during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Through elevated nurturing techniques, hands-on support, and thoughtful, trauma-informed guidance, we can help ensure healthy and safe pregnancies and births. It is important to recognize that these skills are centuries old and have been cultivated, honed, and tailored by many cultures globally to support birthing parents. Dr. Amy Gilliland, a foremost researcher and doula expert, has aggregated these practices into a culturally adaptable, evidence-based certification program to help all birthing parents in our communities.
Meet The Doulaing The Doula Support Team
At Doulaing The Doula, we have a diverse staff of dedicated professionals who support everything from program coordination to class content to doula support. Each member of our team has been hand-selected by Dr. Amy Gilliland herself, based on their unique experience, insight, and expertise.
Redefining Doula Training
Our ever-evolving, ever-expanding curriculum is deeply rooted in cross-cultural research, hands-on field work, and thousands of hours of interviews with birthing parents, medical professionals, and researchers, conducted by the foremost doula expert, Dr. Amy Gilliland. Our courses and workshops emphasize whole-brain learning using modern teaching methods to better engage and involve learners throughout our time together to improve overall outcomes.
Building Doula Communities
At DTD, we focus on evidence-based, trauma-informed, culturally attuned course work and education to help doulas create effective and relevant practices in their own communities. It is our goal that doulas from all communities, especially those that are marginalized, have the opportunity to adapt the skills they’ve learned with DTD to more readily and effectively meet the needs of their clients. We hope that these doulas join our Doula team as coaches (and eventually trainers) to support the growth and development of other doulas in the areas that they live.
About Amy Gilliland
Amy L. Gilliland, Ph.D., CSES (AASECT) researches and teaches about doula labor support, women’s sexual experiences, infant mental health, and the psychological needs of people during the birth experience. She is an AASECT certified sexuality educator supervisor, past psychology faculty at Madison College, and one of the first DONA International birth doula trainers. In her thirty plus year career, her work has spanned the perinatal spectrum. She is considered to be a thought leader and visionary on birth doula issues and an infant mental health expert with specialized training in attachment and interpersonal communication.
Careers
Are you an experienced doula with tens of births under your belt? Do other people in your area see you as a leader and seek out your advice? Are you uncertain how to help new doulas, but want to?
Our Foundation Of Doula Practice Coaches are experienced doulas and emerging leaders who see the value of cultivating doula support for all peoples. We created this new position in the doula world to offer experienced doulas a structured curriculum that would help them to build their own communities.
We are especially interested in assisting Foundation of Doula Practice Coaches from historically oppressed communities to better nurture doulas in those communities. If you are from a group that is marginalized in the health care system, and you want to nurture doulas from that community, we want to work with you!
