Testimonials
On unfamiliar roads we can all use a guide
I was deeply moved while listening to Birgitta’s raw emotion and passion when she spoke about honoring the dying and grieving process during a life coaching workshop. I only wish I had met her fifteen years earlier when my family and I struggled with personal and moral issues surrounding the sad and lengthly illness of both my parents. With profound and genuine regard for the end of life process, Birgitta helped me understand that there are many ways to honor a dying persons wishes while respecting the past, present and future dynamics within a family and helping the loved ones being left behind. For a topic that can be extremely difficult to discuss, Birgitta creates an environment of trust and non judgement and encourages open dialogue in a supportive and safe setting.
I feel genuinely lucky to have met Birgitta. She has changed the way I embrace the unknown.
Birgitta’s light and energy draw you in. You want to be a part of whatever she is about. She has the innate ability to make you feel comforted, safe, loved, and peaceful. Not everyone is comfortable with the topic of death and dying but Birgitta holds your hand and guides you through the most difficult event that we experience in our lives. She is a sensitive, compassionate, authentic coach and I feel blessed and grateful that she is a part of my life.
Over the past year Birgitta has been coaching me through some transitions in my life and I could not have navigated through these changes with as much honesty and grace without her help. Her coaching skills helped me identify and focus on the most important aspects of this change and face the fears that have hindered me in the past. She helped me to clearly identify my values and use these as a guide to making life’s judgements and changes. Our discussions are forever in my memory and her sensitive and insightful coaching will always remind me to look straight in my own mirror.
Birgitta is a sensitive, deeply heart-driven end-of-life transition guide whom I highly recommend to anyone facing their own or a loved-one’s final transition.
Birgitta is one of the most compassionate people I have met. She brings a beautiful sense of presence into any situation. Her ability to know when to say what ( or be silent) is something that is intuitive and special. She is a person of grace and that cannot be taught. She is truly a gift. I was impressed with how she was able to be with a veteran with PTSD with patience, understanding and kindness. I highly recommend her, she is a blessing in her field for everyone she comes across.
I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have had Birgitta’s help. I am an only child and it is my sole responsibility to care for my mother. Birgitta facilitated several conversations and shared valuable information which led to us documenting our wishes and communicating them to other family members. Birgitta is a dedicated, professional with a genuine passion and love for how a family can come together and support someone they love needing to make decisions and living through change, in a way that is guided and respectful to that person. Everything is in place for when my mother’s health begins to fail and I now know what my mother’s expectations and wishes are due to Birgitta’s counseling.
Birgitta has helped me calm down about my perception of death and all the possibilities that might come my way in the future so I feel more at ease which is an almost impossible task. I know she will be my go to support and resource for many years to come.
A cocoon of love.When a loved one is nearing the end of their life, they are often in need of spiritual, emotional, and personal support. We want them to have the best experience they can have. It’s often hard for us to be a caregiver, be grieving, and give our loved one the support they need. Often we feel confused, overwhelmed, and not sure what to do. This is when the special work of Birgitta Kastenbaum can be a blessing for your loved one and for you. People always want to know how something works. Well, it would be easier for me to explain how medicines work (I managed a research lab at the University of California, San Francisco medical school for 11 years) than it would be for me to explain HOW Birgitta does what she does.
When people are nearing the end of their life, they can be very open or very closed, it can be a whole range of emotions. Birgitta observes them and adjusts her behaviors to where and how they are in that moment. It’s as if she builds a cocoon of love, and is totally present to that person. She might lightly sing to them, speak to them, touch them, she might just silently be with them and gaze into their eyes. I am not sure of the how but It’s a spiritual and loving connection between Birgitta and the person who is approaching the end of their physical life. I now know that her work is something beautiful, loving and amazing.
We have an amazing caregiver, Jerome, the best caregiver I have ever seen. He has many years of experience, he’s worked with rich and famous people, and he comes from the heart. When he saw Birgitta work, he was amazed. He said to me, “look at how happy he looks.” The effect lingered and the next day he really noticed a difference too. Jerome said to me, “She should be working with all hospices!” I had the same reaction when I watched her work. In this kind of work, no one can promise any particular results. In the time she has worked with my partner, I saw more smiles than I’ve seen for a long time. If that’s all that happened, that’s enough for me; to have more joy at the end of one’s life, even if it’s just for a time, is an incredible gift. And I believe something much more important happened, something I can’t really describe.
Birgitta’s work has been a huge help to me, and has helped ease my sense of grief and helplessness.
We would love to hear from you
Write a testimonial for us to share with others, it is a wonderful way to pay it forward. Much care, love and attention has been given to all we do and we are so grateful for the trust you have placed in us to be a small part of your journey.
With gratitude,
Birgitta and Bridging Transitions
