Margarethe Alessandra von Trautenberg-Schwarzwald
Sample ProfileDeath & Transition Doula
Multidisciplinary end-of-life companion blending hospice nursing, contemplative practice, and ancestral Germanic folk healing traditions for families navigating death with dignity and tenderness across the Pacific Northwest
About Margarethe
I am a death doula and end-of-life companion serving the greater Portland metro area and surrounding communities throughout the Willamette Valley and Pacific Northwest region. With a background in hospice nursing, palliative care social work, grief counseling, trauma-informed therapy, and interfaith chaplaincy, I bring a deeply multidisciplinary approach to supporting families through some of the most challenging transitions of their lives. I believe that death, like birth, deserves tenderness, intentionality, and the presence of someone who is not afraid to sit with the full weight of what is happening. My practice is informed by Buddhist contemplative traditions, somatic experiencing, narrative therapy, and the Germanic folk healing practices passed down through my grandmother's lineage in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany. I work with families of all backgrounds, all faiths, and all configurations, including chosen families, estranged families, and families who are still figuring out what that word means to them. Whether you are planning a home vigil, navigating a complicated hospice situation, mediating family dynamics during a loved one's final days, or simply need someone to hold space while you process anticipatory grief, I am here for all of it, every messy and beautiful moment of it.
Why I Do This Work
Because the families who are navigating the dying process deserve the same quality of compassionate, continuous, culturally sensitive support that we have fought so hard to bring to the birthing process, and I refuse to let anyone face that journey feeling alone, unsupported, or invisible to the systems that are supposed to care for them.
Services & Pricing
Death Doula
$2,500 – $6,000
Sliding scale available
Comprehensive end-of-life doula support including advance care planning, vigil planning, legacy projects, family mediation, grief counseling, and up to 30 days of on-call availability during active dying process with unlimited phone and text support throughout
Transition Doula
$150 – $300
Sliding scale available
Hourly transition and grief support sessions including anticipatory grief counseling, post-death family support, memorial planning assistance, and referrals to specialized bereavement therapists and support groups in the greater Portland metropolitan area
Techniques & Specialties
Certifications
Certified End-of-Life Doula with Advanced Specialization in Vigil Planning and Legacy Work
International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA) · 2012
Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant (CHPNA)
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization · 2010
Fellow in Thanatology (FT) with Specialization in Traumatic and Sudden Loss
Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) · 2015
Education
PhD in Thanatology and Cross-Cultural End-of-Life Care Practices
Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, Faculty of Behavioral and Cultural Studies
MSN in Palliative Care and Hospice Nursing
Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing
MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Studies
Naropa University
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