SWIHA Blog

For Bella Alaniz Badillo, the path to healing work began early—with curiosity, intuition, and a deep calling toward the integrative arts. What started as a gap year after high school soon became a life-defining journey into self-discovery, resilience, and professional purpose through Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA).

Bella enrolled in SWIHA’s Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program with a specialty in Advanced Hypnotherapy, beginning her studies in February 2024. As she completes her final classes and steps into graduation, she reflects on a journey that has transformed every aspect of her life.

“I always wanted to be a therapist, and as I read SWIHA’s Integrative Arts program, I knew it was the perfect place for me.”

Sometimes healing begins not with a plan, rather with survival. For Chasity Updike, her journey to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) arrived during one of the most painful seasons of her life—and became the turning point that helped her reclaim purpose, voice, and self-trust.

Before enrolling at SWIHA, Chasity was navigating overwhelming loss and responsibility. “There was a lot of heavy grief in my life from losing my soulmate shortly before,” she shares. At the same time, she was caring for her father full-time as his health declined. “I was also taking care of my dad 24/7 as he was slowly dying too from an evil heart.”

Living with multiple autoimmune diseases added another layer of exhaustion and despair. “I had given up and was barely making it through the days,” she says. What she needed most was not a career path—instead, a way to heal herself.

For many students, the path to healing work is not a straight line—it is a remembering. For Larese Dockery, her journey to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) unfolded through timing, alignment, and a deep inner knowing that eventually could not be ignored.

“Before SWIHA, I was finding my way in the healing field—looking for direction and focus,” Larese shares. “I was naturally gifted, however, not truly grounded or certain of my path.”

Although she began the enrollment process years ago, it wasn’t until just over a year ago that everything aligned. “I always knew I’d become a student here; it was really about timing and alignment.” When the moment arrived, she stepped fully into the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program, a decision that would anchor her gifts and help her clarify her purpose.

For some, the call to healing arrives suddenly. For others, it unfolds over a lifetime of listening, learning, and devotion. For recent SWIHA graduate Lisa Victorson, the path has been decades in the making—and continues to deepen with every step.

“I have been a student, teacher, and mentor to many on this path,” Lisa shares. “I have been immersed in ‘Woo Woo’ for over 38 years. I will never stop going to school to learn and working with others to heal.” That lifelong commitment to growth and service is what ultimately led her to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, where she completed the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program (IHAP) with a focus on End of Life Doula studies.

For much of my life, spirituality seemed synonymous with staying positive—keeping my vibration high, speaking love and light, and pushing away anything that felt heavy. The belief lingered that focusing hard enough on peace could somehow outshine pain. What I’ve learned, especially through my journey at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), is that true healing doesn’t come from avoiding the dark—it comes from walking straight into it with compassion and curiosity.

For many healers, the path to purpose isn’t linear—it’s forged through deep self-inquiry, courage, and a willingness to honor authenticity above all else. For Valarie Hopkins, a graduate of SWIHA’s Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program with a focus in Hypnotherapy, that journey has been nothing short of transformational.

“I have always loved the various Healing Arts,” Valarie shares. From early on, she felt a calling to support others in moving through internal blocks and reclaiming their joy. “My main goal is to assist others in moving past obstacles that are in the way of following their bliss, and Hypnotherapy is a great resource for that.”

End-of-life work holds a sacred place in my heart. There has always been a deep knowing that no one should ever be—or feel—alone when nearing the end of life. The thought of someone taking their final breath without a hand to hold or a comforting presence beside them moves me on a soul level. That belief is what first drew me to become an end-of-life doula, a calling that feels less like a career choice and more like a purpose meant to be lived.

Before discovering Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), Diana Arredondo’s life looked stable from the outside—yet internally, something was missing.

“Before coming to SWIHA, my life felt busy and unfulfilled,” Diana shares. Like many people on the brink of transformation, she was working in a corporate job that provided security yet left her feeling disconnected from her deeper purpose. Although she had long been drawn to holistic health and personal growth, she didn’t yet see a clear path forward.

Over time, the disconnect began to show up physically and emotionally. Stress and burnout took a toll, signaling that something needed to change. What began as a personal healing journey soon became a calling.

I created my business, The Adora Method, to guide women of color in healing the subconscious roots of fear, shame, and self-sabotage so they can end painful repeating cycles and create success and relationships that truly last. It is my honor to walk beside them on their path of healing and spiritual awakening.

From the moment she first walked through the doors of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Candy Albalos carried with her a quiet hope—a hope that her life could become something more grounded, purposeful, and aligned with the inner calling she had felt for years. Before SWIHA, Candy described her life simply: “Without purpose.” Yet even during those uncertain years, something deep within was nudging her forward, whispering that she was meant to help others, meant to heal, meant to rise.

Today, as a proud graduate of the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program, Candy stands as a testament to what happens when someone chooses to acknowledge their own divine light—and then follows it courageously.