The job of the shamanic practitioner is to bring that person into awareness that his/her body has died, if necessary, and to guide them into the upper realms in safety.
Ideally, when a person dies he or she transcends out of the earth realm into the upper transcendent realities, where they continue on with their spiritual journey. However, often when a person dies, especially in the case of a sudden death, murder, suicide or delirium through starvation or drugs, that person may not know they are dead, or may stay in what is known in Shamanism as the Middle World – a hidden world within our own. The job of the shamanic practitioner is to bring the dead soul into awareness that they have died, if necessary, and to guide them into the upper realms in safety.
Psychopomp work can include working with souls who feel trapped in the Middle World and who don't know how to get out, but the work can also require working with souls who are fully aware that they are dead but who do not want to leave for any number of reasons. In this case, persuading the dead to let go of their reasons tying them to their unresolved business helps them to move on.
Helping the dead into the Light isn't just good for the deceased; it can be crucial for the living as well. Sometimes a living person can be ‘corded’ energetically to a deceased person, meaning the two are adversely affected; the client by having their grieving process stunted and the dead by being 'stuck' here. Cutting the cord and assisting the deceased soul into the Upper World will resolve the problem.