Karen Bernard, MA
With a Master of Arts in Culture & Spirituality, I bring a holistic perspective to my work as a doula, as well as to weddings, funerals and other services where people mark important moments with ritual and celebration.
With a Master of Arts in Culture & Spirituality, I bring a holistic perspective to my work as a doula, as well as to weddings, funerals and other services where people mark important moments with ritual and celebration.
As an End of Life Doula, I support people and their families in facing death as consciously and as peacefully as possible. With close to 25 years of counseling and community/family mediation experience, I am comfortable with intense feelings, as well as with the kinds of issues that can arise for families around a loved one’s passing. I help people reflect on the meaning of their lives, on what’s important to them in their final days, weeks or months, and on how they want to be remembered. I also help them develop rituals, if they’d like, surrounding their passing.
As a celebrant I help families create ceremonies to honor their loved one, and then usually lead the service. I listen carefully to people’s stories and, if they want, I write a eulogy. I also offer relevant readings, as well as ideas for expressing what this individual and their passing means to family and friends. We might include music, poems, flowers, or any kind of personal touch that fits. Just as every person is unique, so is every service. I support people as they think through what feels right for them in celebrating their beloved.
I am a founding member of Pittsburgh Community Deathcare, and have helped to facilitate Death Cafes. When I’m not involved in death-related events, I’m often at the East End Food Co-op, where I serve in the board of directors and work as the book buyer, striving to offer information and stories that inspire people to live in more conscious connection. I also love mentoring homeschoolers and their parents, and I sometimes lead classes and workshops on topics like Food & Mindfulness and Mandala-Making.
You can reach me by phone at 412-482-7524 or email: kbsweethome@gmail.com
Helen Stickney, Ph.D.
[she/her]
I am a meditation instructor and death doula specializing in contemplative approaches to mortality and grief. As a doula, my role is to support individuals and their loved ones through the various phases of the end of life process. I am available to support everyone involved in the dying process with embodied approaches to integrating loss and transformation. Meditation and deep listening are present in all aspects of my work.
Helen Stickney (she/her)
I am a meditation instructor and end of life companion specializing in contemplative approaches to mortality and grief. In 2014, I left a career in academia and pursued a calling to help those at the end of life. I began my deathcare journey as a hospice volunteer offering Reiki, but it quickly evolved into path of walking alongside individuals and families as they navigated illness, death, and loss of all kinds. I currently work in development for a local hospice and I am the database manager for the local green cemetery. As a member of Pittsburgh Community Deathcare, I offer one-on-one grief support virtually and in person, and I facilitate meditation groups, educational workshops, and group ceremonies for processing our own mortality and for integrating grief of all kinds (outdoors preferred).
As a death companion, my role is to support people through the various phases of the end of life process. Death affects our loved ones as well as those who are dying. I am available to support everyone involved in the dying process. Meditation and deep listening are integrated into all aspects of my work.
I am a trained meditation instructor, who has been meditating for over four decades, focusing most recently on somatic approaches to mindfulness. In my work, I guide people through body-based practices to help them work directly with emotions and well-being, embracing our human experience as a way to heal and grow.
In addition to my work with Pittsburgh Community Deathcare, I am the former director of the Three Rivers Free Clinic for the People and have held leadership roles at a number of meditation centers. I received Death Doula Certification in 2017 and a certificate in Integrative Thanatology from the Open Center in 2021. A full list of trainings and certifications is available upon request.
I’m located in Allegheny county and am happy to drive within 15 miles of the 15209 zip code. I have office space for in person meetings in Millvale, PA. Virtual consults/session available via Zoom. $75/hr for one-on-one sessions. $100/hr for groups. Reduced rates are available if needed. For more information, please send me an email.
Email: helen.stickney@gmail.com
Media:
Rev. Marguerite Aebi
Reverend Marguerite Renee Aëbi (Maggi) An Ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister educated through One Spirit Seminary, I am a committed member of the clergy professionally affiliated with THE THREAD Seminary. This prepares me to minister as support counsel and spiritual care to those individuals seeking peace from life trauma, grief and religious confusion. I personally received Initiation into the Sri Vidya tradition of the Himalayas December 2006, Vows in the Buddhist way of life Nov. 13, 2022 and Ministerial Ordination June 5, 2025.
Reverend Marguerite Renee Aëbi (Maggi)
An Ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister educated through One Spirit Seminary, I am a committed member of the clergy professionally affiliated with THE THREAD Seminary. This prepares me to minister as support counsel and spiritual care to those individuals seeking peace from life trauma, grief and religious confusion. I personally received Initiation into the Sri Vidya tradition of the Himalayas December 2006, Vows in the Buddhist way of life Nov. 13, 2022 and Ministerial Ordination June 5, 2025.
Formerly a Physical Therapy Assistant, I opened an Alternative Therapies office in the mid 90’s and after almost 28 years as a Massage Therapist she was trained and began practicing as an E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) These careers overlapped and truly supported one another. Well versed in anatomy I went on to teach the 200hr and 300hr training for Yoga teachers with the Himalayan Institute in Pittsburgh, PA. My own studio (Yoga On Mars) was opened in 2016 to serve Veterans and those trying to manage their PTSD whether as a result of combat trauma or life trauma. Combining the 12 steps of Recovery and the philosophies of the Yoga Sutra as well as training and Certification through the Warriors At Ease program out of Walter Reed Military Hospital I am a trauma informed teacher with deep compassion for those seeking to manage their symptoms. Personally, I am a Gold Star Mom since losing my son SSgt Ed Greiner Jr 82nd Army Airborne March 6, 2012 and subsequently losing my youngest son Kristopher to a heroin overdose that same day, March 6, in 2015. Experience in teaching workshops combining the 12 step recovery and the practice of yoga (trauma informed) has been a passion for over 15 years. I have presented and taught at the WVDAAC conference, at Case Western Reserve University, with the Wounded Warriors Retreats and for the Semper Fi Odyssey Program for Veterans (Marine Corp & Army) in Boswell, PA. Most recently I had been doing volunteer classes in yoga for the VA in Butler, PA.
Contact: 3RoadsIn.org
Email: maggiaebi@gmail.com