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.”
That inner voice guided Paige to SWIHA, where she enrolled in the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) program with the specialty of End-of-Life Doula certificate — two paths that allowed her to explore healing in its deepest and most human forms.
Finding Purpose in the Mystery of Life and Death
Paige’s connection to the work she now does runs deep. Even before her near-death experience, she felt an unusual sense of calm around death and transition. “I’ve always been drawn to deep work, especially around death,” she says. “After my own experience, that connection just got stronger. I kept thinking about how badly I needed someone grounded and supportive during that time—and I never really found that. Once I figured out what I had needed, I realized I could become that for other people.”
Through her studies at SWIHA, Paige began building the tools and confidence to turn that realization into her life’s work. She appreciated how integrative healing offered flexibility, creativity, and authenticity — space to grow and make the work her own.
“It Just Feels Nice Being Where You’re Supposed to Be”
There wasn’t one single moment of revelation for Paige — no dramatic sign or instant transformation. “I just knew I had to do this,” she says. “When I make a definite decision, I go for it. No turning back.”
One night, standing in her newly rented studio space for her practice, Roaming Goat Healing Arts, everything clicked. “We had an open house for new practitioners, and one of the women next to me said, ‘Doesn’t it just feel nice being where you’re supposed to be, when everything just aligns?’” Paige remembers. “I paused and said, ‘Yeah… it really does.’ That was the moment.”
Healing, Integration, and Freedom
Today, Paige’s life is barely recognizable from what it once was. “Before SWIHA, I was working nonstop, just trying to survive,” she says. “Through this program, I’ve been able to integrate parts of myself I used to hide, especially my shadow self. I’ve released guilt, shame, and the belief that I had to be anything other than exactly who I am now. I feel free.”
Through Roaming Goat Healing Arts, Paige offers integrative wellness coaching, end-of-life doula care, holistic chef services, guided meditation, and soon, yoga Nidra classes. She also specializes in addiction recovery, burnout recovery, post-trauma growth, and grief care — meeting clients exactly where they are and offering the grounded, intuitive support she once needed herself.
“The best part about having my own practice is that it’s always expanding,” Paige says. “These are the services I offer now, yet I’m always growing, and so is the work.”
Lessons in Self-Love and Growth
Among Paige’s greatest lessons at SWIHA is the understanding that self-love is not a destination — it’s a daily practice. “I used to hear people say, ‘You can’t help anyone else until you help yourself,’ and it made me feel like I’d never be ready. Now, I get it,” she reflects. “No one’s ever perfectly healed. What really matters is being honest about where you’re at and choosing to keep moving forward.”
Her advice for future SWIHA students is heartfelt and grounded in experience: “Take your time and don’t put pressure on yourself to have it all figured out. This program can change your life, if you let it. Trust your timing, give yourself grace, and remember that your journey won’t look like anyone else’s—and that’s the whole point.”
Discover Your Own Path of Healing and Transformation
Paige’s story is a testament to what can happen when you listen to your intuition, trust your timing, and allow healing to guide your purpose. If you’re ready to turn your life experiences into a source of strength and service, the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Diploma or End-of-Life Doula program at SWIHA might be your next step.
✨ Begin your journey. Awaken your gifts. Transform your life.
