FACES Approach

Presence & Passage works alongside individuals, families and organizations through serious illness, caregiving, grief and end of life. The FACES Approach is the framework behind that work.

No two situations are alike, but the principles that help people navigate them often are. These five areas — Facilitation, Advocacy, Communication, Education and Support — are the foundation underneath all of it.

Why FACES?

This framework comes from more than twenty years of work in communication, leadership and facilitation, combined with training as an end-of-life doula and grief coach, and my personal experience with grief and loss.

The skills that help people navigate organizational change and difficult conversations are the same skills that help individuals, families and organizations facing serious illness, caregiving, grief and death: facilitating conversations, advocating for people, communicating clearly, providing education and offering steady support.

These aren't five separate services—they're five interconnected ways of supporting people.

FACES approach for individuals & families

Support for people navigating serious illness, caregiving, grief and end-of-life

Facilitation

Help starting and continuing conversations families don't know how to have — about a diagnosis, caregiving, end-of-life wishes, or family dynamics. A structured, compassionate space where everyone can take part.

– Family meetings

– Serious illness conversations

– Circle of Care discussions

Advocacy

Help clarifying what matters most, understanding the options available, and preparing for complex decisions. Presence & Passage does not provide legal or medical advice. The work is organizing information, preparing for conversations, and communicating wishes clearly.

– Preparing questions for medical appointments

– Values clarification

– Helping make sure wishes are understood

Communication

Help putting what matters into words — documenting a life story, planning for a future conversation, or finding the right words in a hard moment.

– Life review

– Obituaries and eulogies

– Letters and memory projects

Education

Practical information, resources and guidance that help people know what to expect. Knowing more reduces uncertainty and supports decisions made with intention rather than urgency.

– Guides and worksheets

– Resource recommendations

– Caregiving education

Support

Steady, non-medical presence through serious illness, caregiving, grief and end-of-life. Sometimes that means helping solve a problem. Sometimes it means being there.

– End-of-life doula services

– Grief coaching

– Vigil support and presence

Presence & Passage does not provide legal, financial or medical advice. Services are offered alongside — not in place of — legal, financial or clinical professionals.

FACES APPROACH FOR ORGanizations & workplaces

Support for leaders and teams navigating loss, caregiving and serious illness in the workplace.

FACILITATION

Help for teams navigating difficult moments — through discussion, planning and reflection. Whether responding to a death, supporting a caregiver, or managing change, facilitation makes room for conversations people tend to avoid.

– Team discussions

– Manager roundtables

– Processing sessions after loss or major change

ADVOCACY

Help building policies, practices and a culture that supports employees through serious illness, caregiving and grief — with more consistency and less uncertainty.

– Bereavement policy review

– Organization-specific resource development

– Grief-informed leadership guidance

COMMUNICATION

Help for leaders communicating clearly during difficult moments with messaging that holds both the operational needs and the human reality.

– Communication planning during loss

– Bereavement communication review

– Manager conversation guides

EDUCATION

Workshops and resources that build understanding around grief, caregiving, serious illness and end-of-life conversations.

– Workshops

– ERG sessions

– Resource guides

SUPPORT

Help for leaders and organizations responding thoughtfully when employees face life's hardest moments — building readiness before a crisis, and guidance when one arrives.

– Manager & executive coaching

– Bereavement support planning

– Ongoing organizational advising

Presence & Passage does not provide medical, legal, financial or HR advice. Services are offered alongside — not in place of — clinical, legal, financial and workplace professionals.