Armonia Maxima, LLC
End-of-Life Doula Services, Planning, and Consulting
Dedicated in-person support in
Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio
Remote support available everywhere
Comprehensive non-medical support for clients and caregivers
Notice of limited availability
I accepted an offer of full-time employment beginning January 2024. I’m continuing my end-of-life doula practice in a limited capacity with a focus on consultation and support scheduled a week or more in advance. I belong to a vast and growing network of end-of-life doulas both locally and across the country, so while I might not be available to offer immediate on-call service to new clients, I’m still available to make referrals. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
Why choose Armonia Maxima?
Armonia: Spanish and Italian for “harmony.”
Maxima: Maximum, the greatest possible amount.
Armonia Maxima, LLC, specializes in crafting and implementing highly individualized plans that promote comfort and peace so that clients and their caregivers can discover meaning and create good memories at the end of life. What brings maximum harmony to one person may not for someone else, which is why it’s so important an end-of-life doula meet you exactly where you are. This is your life, your journey, and it is your vision we will work together to discover and put into action.
Greg Brown, end-of-life navigator.
I’m a trained, experienced, and insured end-of-life doula, expert listener, skilled facilitator, certified funeral celebrant, thoughtful educator, successful project manager, and engaging presenter. I founded Armonia Maxima, LLC, in 2020, bringing my practice to the central Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood of Clintonville in August 2021. Offering in-person services to clients in the Greater Columbus area, I also serve out-of-area clients remotely over video-conference and phone. My practice embraces a stance of cultural humility, and I am honored to serve clients of all backgrounds. I particularly welcome opportunities to meet the needs of LGBTQIA+ clients and others whose support systems and family/friend networks are atypical. Click below to learn more about my experience, credentials, skills, and call to doula service.
Facing a tough prognosis?
Seeking steady support as you engage with your fear of death or dying?
Looking for help holding a difficult conversation with your elderly parents? … or your children?
Determined to tackle the advance care planning you keep putting off?
Feeling overwhelmed? You don’t have to face it alone.
Comprehensive End-of-Life Doula Services
Personalized non-medical support for caregivers, loved ones, and your people.
StoryListening and grief support.
Individualized Death Planning
It might feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Let me help you with the important tasks of Advance Care Planning. You’ll be surprised at the comfort it can bring to you and your loved ones. As your advocate, I can facilitate conversations with your family and medical team.
Life Review and Legacy Projects
Every life is meaningful, and discovering and reflecting on your own life’s meaning can alleviate feelings of loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and dread.
Vigil Planning and Support
Many people want to die at home, and and some don’t. Regardless of your choice, Armonia Maxima will work with you to create an environment where you feel comfortable, and to ensure your wishes will be honored.
Who will be there when you die? Will there be music? Will there be medical equipment? As an end-of-life doula, I offer a compassionate and supportive presence, always advocating for your vision of what a good death looks like, not my own.
Insight-Certified Celebrant
A funeral (or celebration of life) can meet your individual and family needs, offering space and time to celebrate a meaningful life, and to acknowledge your profound loss. This is an important part of expressing and processing grief, and it doesn’t have to feel impersonal.
I will coordinate with the funeral director of your choosing, writing and delivering a comforting, personalized, powerful eulogy to honor your life and support your loved ones.
Armonia Maxima offers a variety of additional services to meet your specific needs.
Not everyone will need all these services, and some clients will request services not listed here. Armonia Maxima can help by filling in the gaps in care you receive from hospice, family, and friends. Click below to read more about the support we can offer you on your journey.
Fostering connection, building trust
“I recommend the skillfully superb Greg Brown of Armonia Maxima. His dementia doula services have given me a sense of meaning and purpose beyond that of simply standing in line for the Grim Reaper…. He understands that there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter life, just as there is no such thing as “cookie-cutter” dementia…. Since I started working with Greg Brown my family life has improved greatly because I know that Greg can handle my most devastating thoughts…. Greg Brown is a consummate professional who will bring tact, sympathy, sensitivity and encouragement as I continue to decline.”
— Dulcie Mainwairing (You can read Dulcie’s entire review here. “Dementia doula” is a term of Dulcie’s own devising, which she used to describe the end-of-life doula services she received.)
“Greg’s support made a world of difference. He’s a great listener and his questions helped me prioritize my needs. He worked with me to make sure those needs will be met.”
—L.K.
Our family was so stressed out and we didn’t know how to talk to each other about what was happening. I didn’t want to spend the time we had left arguing with each other. Greg’s calming presence made an incredibly tough situation bearable for all of us. Dad was so grateful for his support. We all were.”
—C.M.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant. He was sensitive to our situation (our parents are very religious but we are not) in a way that made all feel included. Greg really listened to us and tailored a ceremony that was beautiful, truthful and unique."
— A.B. and D.B.
“Greg is a natural doula, a skilled listener, and a gifted communicator.. He is kind, thoughtful, caring, and has a deeply compassionate heart. Whether considering advance care planning, dealing with difficult conversations, or facing a tender time after a terminal diagnosis, Greg will show up with integrity and a presence that will let you know you are being heard in a safe, open, and non-judgmental way. I would be honored to someday have Greg as my own death doula.”
— Diane Button, Author, Doula, and Founding Partner of the Bay Area End-of-Life Doula Alliance in Northern California
“Greg is a highly skilled and compassionate doula; and a gentle and impactful end-of-life educator. Anyone would be fortunate to have his companionship and support.”
—Angela Shook, End-of-Life Doula; Past President, National End-of-Life Doula Alliance; Instructor, University of Vermont, End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program
FAQs
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The end-of-life doula approach to care is modeled on the non-medical support given to women by birth doulas. EOL doulas have borrowed the term because it fits so well. If it strikes you as a weird term that you’re not comfortable with, I’m happy to be your end-of-life navigator, guide, coach, or specialist instead.
I use the term “end-of-life doula” rather than “death doula” because I celebrate with my clients that they are very much alive until their last breath, and should be treated as such. Through words and actions, I still seek to normalize discussions about death, but I never lose sight of the fact that the work I do is about supporting clients who choose to live fully at the end of life.
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No. Hospice care is a wonderful service that can be provided in-patient or wherever the patient lives. It consists of a care team of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers. Hospice care in the United States is largely defined by the practices of the Medicare system and other health insurance providers, which cover care for patients with terminal diseases who are estimated to live six months or less.
An end-of-life doula is not a substitute for hospice care, but rather a supplement to hospice care. A doula can begin to work with a client far before they might be admitted to hospice. Many clients hire doulas to fill in gaps in the services hospice provides. Doulas provide non-medical support. We do not accept Medicare or other insurance, and thus are not bound by strict timelines and limitations to visit frequency and length. -
Doulas provide non-medical emotional and spiritual support to our clients, but we do not impose our own religious views and spiritual practices on our clients. We meet our clients where they are, listening for their needs. We work with you to create your own meaning.
If requested, doulas will lead ceremonies of your choosing to mark important moments. Some clients will decide to turn to their own faith leaders and community to meet their spiritual needs, reserving a doula’s help for non-spiritual tasks.Many of my clients do not identify as a member of a specific religion, nor even adhere to a spiritual practice. As they approach the end of life, most people discover they have spiritual needs to attend to. All lives have meaning, and it is an honor to support my clients as they uncover that meaning and examine their legacy.
Will there be prayer? Meditation? Poetry? Crystals? Reverence? Irreverence? That’s up to the client. It’s your journey, not mine. -
I offer a free 30-minute consultation for prospective clients. If we then agree we’re a good match, I will offer an hourly rate along with options for larger package deals.
Doulas do not accept any insurance (including Medicaid and Medicare), but an experienced doula can investigate options for after-death care and green burial that can significantly ease the burden of other end-of-life costs.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a Consultation. -
I generally offer in-person services in the metropolitan Columbus, Ohio, area. If you’d like to request in-person services but reside out-of-area, send me an email, and we can discuss logistics and additional cost.
Many services (such as advance care planning, life review, and emotional support) can be offered remotely, and in this way I’ve successfully served many remote clients over video conference or phone call. -