SWIHA Blog

Supporting someone through their final transition is one of the most sacred and meaningful callings a person can answer. End-of-Life Doulas—sometimes called Death Doulas or Transition Guides—hold space for individuals and families during one of life’s most profound passages. These compassionate caregivers provide emotional, spiritual, and practical support to those nearing the end of life, helping them find peace, dignity, and closure.

If you feel called to this work, it’s important to take time for deep reflection and preparation. Here are five important things to consider before becoming an End-of-Life Doula.

When the Universe calls, sometimes it takes a while before we’re ready to answer. For SWIHA graduate Bethany Radakovich, that call came again and again—until she finally said yes.

“I began my journey last February, after many promptings from the Universe to investigate and enroll,” Bethany shared. “It’s been a very wonderful experience that I dearly wish I had been able and aware to start much, much earlier. It has felt like this is where I was meant to be all along.”

Bethany recently graduated from SWIHA’s Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Program, a path that gave her new professional direction and brought deep personal healing after a time of loss and uncertainty.

After 21 years of active duty in the United States Air Force, Gennie Ruffin retired in 2012 and began a new chapter of her life. “I was living the retired grandparent life,” she shares warmly. Yet even as she embraced the calm rhythm of retirement, a quiet calling stirred within her — one she had felt since childhood.

“I have always been attracted to the metaphysical, spiritual aspects of life,” Gennie reflects. “I’ve always wanted to help heal people without being a doctor.”

Before finding Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Elliott Warner (they/them) was in a place of deep uncertainty. “In my life before SWIHA, I was facing many challenges,” Elliott recalls. “I was struggling to make sense of my life, and being a professional of any kind seemed impossible.”

It was during a hospital stay—when Elliott was searching online for affordable hypnosis training—that their life took a powerful turn. “Even a single class was around $500,” they share. “This was significantly out of my budget. So, I logged on to the SWIHA website I had encountered years before to look into Yoga training… I found that financial aid was available for my program of study, and it was more than I could have dreamed.”

When Paige Haddad found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), she was at a crossroads — a place between survival and awakening. “When I found SWIHA, I was recovering from a near-death experience, a painful divorce, and stepping into sobriety,” she shares. “I was still healing, totally lost, and trying to make sense of everything.”

At the time, Paige was working exhausting hours as a chef — 2 AM to 2 PM shifts — holding down side gigs and fighting to stay afloat. Yet deep down, she knew she wasn’t living her true calling. “I could feel it in my gut that I wasn’t supposed to be doing that anymore,” she says. “I knew I had something more in me, I just didn’t know what it looked like yet.”

Before finding her path at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Melinda York was living what many would consider a successful life—constantly giving, constantly showing up for others—yet something was missing. “Before SWIHA, my life felt like I was constantly pouring into others yet still feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from my deeper purpose,” she recalls.

Melinda’s journey to SWIHA began through her own process of healing and self-discovery. Searching for tools to better understand herself and the world around her, she was drawn to the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) Diploma program, where she discovered the transformative power of holistic education and self-awareness.

For Alejandra Hernandez, life before Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) was a search for deeper meaning. She had already begun a personal healing journey, longing for something that honored presence, spirituality, and connection to the earth. In a world that often demands speed, productivity, and distraction, Alejandra felt the call to slow down, listen inward, and live in alignment with her soul.

That calling led her to SWIHA, where she enrolled in the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program, focusing on Modern Spirituality and specializing in Earth Ceremonies and Healing Botanicals. It was here that Alejandra began weaving together the wisdom of presence, ceremony, and earth-based practices into a life of purpose.

In 2004, Becca Schmidt made a decision that would change the entire course of her life. After years of working in the high-stress worlds of marketing, public relations, event planning, and volunteer management, she knew she needed something different. With marriage and motherhood on the horizon, she longed for a career that offered balance, creativity, and flexibility—without sacrificing her passion for connection and communication.

That’s when she found Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and enrolled in the Yoga Teacher Training program. Looking back, she calls it one of the most pivotal choices she’s ever made.

From Beauty to Healing

Before enrolling at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Candice had built a thriving career in esthetics. “I had been in the beauty industry for sixteen years and had owned my own spa for the last seven. I was happy and content in my life,” she shares.

Yet life had other plans. After experiencing three severe car accidents—the last leaving her with a traumatic brain injury and debilitating neck issues—she began questioning whether her future was still in esthetics. “I started to experience economic hardship in my business as well as physical hardship. Mentally, I found myself overwhelmed with life. I was juggling a business, a brain injury, and physical therapy.”

Every student who walks through the doors of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) carries with them a story—a story of searching, of struggle, of transformation, and of hope. For soon-to-be graduate Lindsay Childers, her path to healing and purpose has been one of resilience, courage, and faith in the calling placed on her heart.