About Me

My name is Karen Miller Jick.

I am a life transitions guide and end-of-life doula.

I am also a wife, bonus mother and grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin, neighbor, colleague and friend. Throughout my professional life, as a social worker, psychotherapist, and educator, I have done one thing consistently. I have supported people in surmounting life’s challenges.

Life Transitions Guide

This encore career brings together the wisdom and compassion gained through years of professional and personal experience. I have witnessed the human spirit in action during life’s most vulnerable times. We are at once both vulnerable and strong.

During challenging times, we forget that we have an innate capacity to heal, adapt and grow. My role is to remind you of your strength. Together we will face barriers, honor losses, and discover new possibilities that are meaningful to you. My goal is not to tell you what to do. It is to support you as you make your way again to wholeness and peace.

Death is a certainty. As an end-of-life doula, I help people prepare for this certainty. Our own and the deaths of our loved ones. Being death prepared brings clarity about life. What is truly important moves front and center. We learn that we can live life as fully as possible while having a simultaneous awareness that life will eventually end. As a doula, I provide a safe space for people: to talk about death, to ask the hard questions, to share concerns and fears, to learn about choices. For those who know their death is approaching, I work closely with you and your loved ones to prepare for and move through the sacred final months. After a death, I continue to offer grief support to loved ones as they begin their journey of living with loss.

End-of-Life Doula

View My Certificate

My Personal Foundation

Growing up in rural Wisconsin where we had little materially, family was everything. Life centered around our family of seven children. An eighth child died within months of his birth. Yet his brief life became my first experience with the endurance of love that continues beyond death. With how every life is woven into the lives of others in meaningful and lasting ways. I grew up surrounded by the joys and sorrows, challenges and celebrations of our large extended family, which taught me about both human vulnerably and human strength. It showed me the value of friendships and the power of working in community with others. These early experiences became the foundation of my life’s work. It would be an honor to work with you in your important transitions of life and death.

Professional Background

I am a life-long learner. I earned my Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and have pursued advanced training throughout my career. I hold certificates in mediation, grief therapy, trauma counseling, EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), family systems theory, Gottman Model couples therapy, Solutions Focused Therapy and Human Services Administration.

My work has included psychotherapy, child welfare, international adoption, university teaching, clinical supervision and continuing education for established professionals. Each experience has deepened my understanding of how people survive adversity, grow through change, and discover meaning as they move through the seasons of life.

FAQ’s

  • A 30-minute free phone or video consultation is used to determine the appropriate type and extent of services. This is a time for the potential client and me to determine if the parties are a good ‘fit’ to work together.

  • Simply fill out the contact form. I will contact you to set up the phone or video appointment.

  • All Life Transitions Guidance services are virtual, using either this dedicated online link doxy.me/jick or FaceTime. Doula services are provided at the location of the client or via the video link, as appropriate to the circumstances.

  • No, though health savings accounts are usually an option for payment.

  • Once the individual or package of services is agreed upon, I will send a contract and a link to pay online with a credit card. All services must be paid for in advance. If for some reason the entire package is not or cannot be used, the remaining balance is returned to the client.

What our Community Say

"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."