Karen Miller Jick: A Steady Presence Through Life's Hardest Changes 

Life coaching and end of life doula support from a social worker and psychotherapist who has spent a career sitting with people through the hard parts. Based in Wisconsin, services are available via video across the country. Begin your journey with a 30 minute complimentary consultation.

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My Name is Karen Miller Jick

I am a life transitions coach and end of life doula.

Before that I was a social worker, psychotherapist and social work educator. I have a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, plus years of ongoing specialty training and professional counseling experience.

Your Journey, Supported

Whether you are navigating a major life change, seeking clarity in your personal growth, or looking for a compassionate presence during an end of life journey, you do not have to walk this path alone.

I will not tell you what to do. I provide support and encouragement as we focus on your goals for our time together.

View my certificate

Life Transition Services

Two kinds of work, taken separately or together. Both start with the same complimentary 30 minute consultation, and both are available by video wherever you are.

End of Life Doula

Death is one of life’s changes. It is a part of life. We celebrate lives well lived. We prepare for births, so too can we prepare for death.

I support individuals and their loved ones as they prepare. We talk openly and honestly about what is eventually coming and work through choices and necessary actions. Through planning and emotional support, death with dignity is possible.

More about end of life doula services

Life Coaching

Life is change. Most days, we don’t notice. Until it does. An event happens, a decision is made, a threshold is crossed. Together, we will sort through the impact, face the changes and challenges, acknowledge what is lost and work out what you want the next part to look like.

Invest in yourself. Come for a handful of sessions about a specific change or stay for a while to rebuild. We have but one life. Live yours well.

More about Life Transitions Coaching Services

What People Bring to Me

There is no threshold you have to cross before this is worth a conversation. People arrive at all kinds of moments, including:

  • Divorce, separation, or the end of a long relationship

  • Retirement, or the odd stretch of months just before it

  • A career change, a layoff, or work that no longer fits

  • Caring for an aging parent

  • The house going quiet after the last child leaves

  • A serious diagnosis, yours or someone you love

  • Grief, whether it is recent or thirty years old

  • A move away from a place you thought you would stay in

  • A sense that something has to change, with no clear idea what

If yours is not on that list, it still counts.

How We Begin

Three steps, and none of them commits you to anything.

A complimentary 30-minute consultation

You fill in the contact form, we talk, and if I am not the right person I will say so.

An agreement in writing

A contract covering the services and the cost, with a card payment link. Unused balance comes back to you.

The work itself

Coaching by video at doxy.me/jick or FaceTime. Doula visits wherever you are, or by video when that suits better.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • No, and the difference matters. Therapy usually works backward, into the things that shaped you. This work faces forward. We start from where you are now and deal with the change in front of you. My background is in psychotherapy and I bring all of that training into the room, but I am not acting as your therapist here. If what you are carrying needs clinical treatment, I will say so and help you find the right person.

  • No. I am based in Wisconsin, where I grew up and trained, but coaching sessions run by video, so we can work together wherever you are in the country. In person doula visits are a different matter and depend on where you are located.

  • It is a complimentary 30-minute phone or video call. We use it to work out what kind of support you need and how much of it, and to see whether the two of us are a good fit. Fill in the contact form and I will be in touch to arrange a time.

  • All coaching is virtual, through a dedicated link at doxy.me/jick or over FaceTime, so I can work with clients across the country. Doula services take place at the client’s location where that is practical, or by video where it suits the circumstances better.

  • It varies more than people expect. Some come for a short run of sessions to get through one specific thing and then stop. Others stay on for months while they rebuild something bigger. We decide together at the start, and you can change your mind. [PLACEHOLDER: Karen to confirm typical session counts or package lengths so this can be specific.

  • A doula is not medical staff. I do not replace hospice or a care team and I am not there to do their job. The difference is that I am not working against a clock the way they are, so I have time to spend with you.

    Mostly I sit with you and we talk about what is coming. Some of those questions are hard to say out loud, and getting them said is a good part of what I am there for. There are practical choices to work through too. I stay through the final months rather than turning up at the end of them.

    Families get the same from me, and for them it usually means being the one steady person in the room when nobody else in the house can manage it.

  • Yes, and it usually goes better when they are. A death is not something that happens to one person on their own. It happens to everyone in the house and the people around the bed often need as much support as the person in it. I work with whoever the client wants involved. After death, I carry on with the ones left behind.

  • Almost certainly not. Most people call in the last few weeks and then tell me they wish they had called sooner, because by that point there is very little room left to plan anything properly. There is nothing morbid about getting ready for a death while you are still well. Most people find it makes the time they have left easier to see.

  • I stay in touch with the people who are grieving for as long as that is useful. Grief support does not run on a schedule and it does not end at the funeral.

  • No. A health savings account is usually an option for payment.

  • Once we agree on the service or package, I send a contract and a link to pay online by card. Everything is paid for in advance. If the package is not used in full, the balance is returned to you.

In Their Own Words

"I will always be grateful for the help you gave me. I see clearly how you helped me through major healing. You helped me to tap into my own authenticity. It’s been a long road. I am so grateful you were there for me on it. I have no doubt you helped countless other lives.

"I thank God for the times you spent with me. The Lord knew it had to take someone special like you to help me through the tough times. I shared my traumas and you stayed. Thank you."

"Karen, I am not sure where to start to thank you. I could not have for a better counselor even if I had dreamed one up. I always knew you cared. You went through a lot with me. I am so grateful for everything."

"I appreciate your candor. There were times when my mother was dying that I was completely paralyzed in fear. I am deeply grateful for the time you spent with her and us."

"This note has been really hard for me to start because I cannot put into words how much you have helped me and how grateful I am. I was drowning in confusion. You have helped me to see things clearer and I have realized a great deal about myself."

Nurturing Your Journey

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