SWIHA Blog

Some journeys begin with a career change. Others begin with a quiet inner knowing that grows impossible to ignore.

For Amanda Keller-Cross, her path to healing started long before she enrolled at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). It began with a personal search for deeper understanding—of herself, her family, and the stories carried through generations.

Now, as she prepares to graduate from SWIHA's Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP)diploma program with a specialization in Advanced Hypnotherapy, Amanda is transforming that personal journey into a meaningful career dedicated to helping others reconnect with the wisdom already within them.

Sometimes the path to healing doesn't arrive all at once. Sometimes it appears through small nudges, meaningful conversations, unexpected opportunities, and the quiet voice inside that refuses to be ignored.

For current Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) student Stephanie Clark, her journey to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts was years in the making—and exactly what she needed when the time was right.

Life doesn't always unfold according to plan. Sometimes the path we've carefully built changes in an instant, requiring us to discover strengths we never knew we had. For Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) student Anna Kajner, an unexpected career-ending injury became the catalyst for a profound personal and professional transformation.

Currently enrolled in the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) Program and having previously completed Hypnotherapy Foundations I-III, Anna's journey is a powerful reminder that healing often begins when we are willing to embrace change and trust where life is leading us.

Some journeys begin with a clear destination. Others begin with a quiet feeling that there must be something more.

For recent Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) graduate Kori McKinley, that feeling showed up after years spent caring for others. Working in medical settings and caregiving roles, she dedicated much of her life to helping people navigate their challenges. Yet beneath the surface, she found herself asking deeper questions about stress, emotions, healing, and why so many people—including herself—seemed to be carrying burdens they didn't fully understand.

Life has a way of guiding us toward growth when we're ready for it.

For recent Southwest Institute of Healing Arts graduate Relynn Arwood, that journey began during a season of major transition. After years of dedicating herself to raising her young children, she found herself searching for something more—a path that would allow her to reconnect with herself, continue growing, and create a future aligned with her deepest values.

That search led her to SWIHA's Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) Diploma Program.

For many students at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), enrolling in a program is more than a career decision — it’s the beginning of a transformation. For graduate Jessica Hoffland, that transformation came after one of the most difficult seasons of her life.

A graduate of the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) and Advanced Hypnotherapy programs, Jessica’s journey into holistic healing was deeply personal. After spending more than two decades as a licensed cosmetologist, her life unexpectedly changed due to severe health challenges connected to toxic mold exposure and chronic illness.

For Darcie Huffman, the path to becoming a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach wasn’t a sudden decision—it was a calling that had been quietly unfolding for years. With a professional background in property management and a creative spirit rooted in art—having even owned her own studio—Darcie’s life has always been a blend of structure and self-expression. Yet beneath it all, there was a deeper interest guiding her forward.

“I have always been interested in holistic health,” she shares. “I am passionate about holistic health and wellness because I understand and have witnessed the benefits and results of holistic living.”

For Savannah Lay, the journey into holistic health wasn’t about starting over—it was about finally stepping into alignment.

“Life before SWIHA was good,” she shares, “yet I knew I wasn’t living my true purpose.”

That quiet knowing is something many people experience yet don’t always act on. For Savannah, it became the catalyst for transformation. Drawn by her “love for nature and its accessible healing,” she enrolled in the Holistic Health and Wellness Coaching Online program at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA)—a decision that would begin to reshape her career path, and her entire life.

At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), many students arrive with a calling—and sometimes, that calling begins in unexpected places. For Health and Wellness Coaching graduate Kodee Jankowski, the journey into holistic health didn’t start as a career plan. It started as a mother’s search for answers.

Today, that search has grown into something much bigger: a mission to support the health, resilience, and well-being of first responders.

As a small child, I would often stare up at the sky and ask, “Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing?” Not many children my age were asking questions like that—it’s not exactly a typical childhood thought. Yet there was always a sense of being different, like coming from somewhere else… another planet, perhaps. Big questions about life came naturally, along with a deep sensitivity to the emotions of others.