Rachael Davies and Michelle Staniland, founders of InsideOut Wellness Academy, have over five decades of combined experience in coaching, therapy, and personal development. They’ve built an academy for inner growth, confidence, and purpose.
Rachael and Michelle first met in 2019, discovering a shared belief that true transformation begins from within. Behind their work is the philosophy that healing the mind and body should go hand in hand with building a fulfilling career. Through InsideOut Wellness Academy, they train coaches, counsellors, and hypnotherapists to master their craft and create meaningful, financially stable practices. Their teaching style is extremely empowering. They offer small classes, one-on-one guidance, and lifelong mentorship. It’s a place where every student feels seen, supported, and capable of creating real change. In this interview, they share their experience, lessons learnt, and how they created a community for wellness professionals ready to grow from the inside out.
Rachael and Michelle, thank you for joining us. InsideOut Wellness Academy is redefining how wellness professionals learn, grow, and lead. What inspired you both to create a platform that goes beyond traditional training and focuses on shaping the future of the industry?
Rachael and Michelle: We created InsideOut Wellness Academy because we saw a gap between theory and true transformation. Too many practitioners left their training with qualifications, yet still felt unsure how to apply their learning confidently or how to build a sustainable business around it. We wanted to change that.
We’re deeply passionate about raising standards across the wellness industry, ensuring that every practitioner, coach, and therapist receives not only high-quality, evidence-based education, but also the mentoring and ethical grounding needed to work safely, effectively, and with integrity.
Our vision was to create a space where knowledge meets embodiment; where evidence-based techniques sit alongside intuitive wisdom, and where every practitioner can grow personally as they develop professionally. InsideOut Wellness Academy was born from the belief that transformation starts within, and that when practitioners align who they are with what they do, everything changes for them, and for the people they serve.
As the wellness field becomes increasingly competitive, how does InsideOut Wellness Academy ensure its graduates are equipped not only with knowledge but with the confidence and clarity to thrive long-term?
Rachael and Michelle: Confidence comes from practice, support, and lived experience, not just from reading a manual. That’s why our courses combine live interactive learning, supervised practice sessions, group mentoring, and a supportive community that continues well beyond graduation.
We build clarity through frameworks that make sense of the bigger picture, helping our students define their niche, refine their communication, and develop both mindset and business acumen. Every qualification is mapped to national standards and enhanced by practical tools that our graduates can immediately use with clients. We don’t just want our students to qualify; we want them to thrive.
You both emphasize the integration of personal alignment with professional growth. How do you help practitioners find their authentic voice while building a business that reflects their values?
Rachael and Michelle: We start from the inside out: helping practitioners connect with their core values, lived experiences, and the “why” behind their work. From there, we guide them to shape services, pricing, and messaging that feel congruent with who they truly are.
Through reflection, clean language processes, and business coaching, our students discover their authentic therapeutic identity, rather than adopting a generic model. We also integrate our Private Practice Essentials framework, so their external business structure naturally mirrors their internal alignment.
InsideOut Wellness Academy’s approach merges evidence-based practice with intuitive guidance. How do you balance structure and creativity when designing programs for coaches and therapists?
Rachael and Michelle: Our approach is both grounded and intuitive. We use evidence-based frameworks and adhere to national standards while weaving in creative modalities like NLP, breathwork, Clean Language, and Ericksonian hypnosis.
Every program is intentionally structured with clear learning outcomes, assessments, and reflective practice, yet delivered with flexibility that honours different learning styles and lived experiences, encouraging creativity and adaptability in practitioners.
The Academy’s philosophy focuses on transformation from within. Could you share an example of how this inside-out approach has created lasting change for your students or community?
Rachael and Michelle: Without question, it’s watching our students step into their confidence. We’ve seen people arrive nervous and unsure, and leave ready to start private practices, run workshops, and change lives. But even more rewarding is seeing how much they grow personally, finding their voice, healing old patterns, and trusting themselves again.
We often say that the Diploma changes lives long before our students ever work with clients. It’s a journey of self-discovery as much as it is a qualification. Seeing those transformations unfold, that moment when someone says, “I can actually do this,” is what keeps us doing what we do.
Looking ahead, what future trends in wellness education do you believe will define the next decade, and how is InsideOut Wellness Academy preparing to lead that transformation?
Rachael and Michelle: We believe the next decade of wellness education will be defined by a shift from technique-based teaching to integrative, trauma-informed, and nervous-system-aware learning. The world is moving away from quick-fix wellness approaches toward depth, authenticity, and embodied understanding, and education will need to reflect that.
Here are the key trends we see shaping the future:
1. Integration of science and spirituality
We’ll see a stronger blending of neuroscience, psychology, and somatic science with mindfulness, energy work, and contemplative practice. Students and clients alike are craving approaches that honour both the analytical and the intuitive… evidence-based, but also soul-based.
2. Flexible, experiential, community-based learning
The old model of static online courses is fading. The future lies in blended learning: live, interactive, community-supported education where people learn through connection and practice, not just content. Peer mentoring, group supervision, and reflective spaces will become as important as the teaching itself.
3. AI-supported personalisation
Artificial intelligence will begin to enhance learning: tailoring feedback, tracking reflective practice, and supporting educators with adaptive learning models. But the human relationship will remain at the core; AI will amplify connection, not replace it.
The future of wellness education will be relational, reflective, and integrative, blending science with soul, information with embodiment, and learning with lived experience.
At InsideOut Wellness Academy, that’s already the direction we’re going in by helping people grow not just as practitioners but as integrated, self-aware, and heart-led professionals who create change from the inside out.
Conclusion
InsideOut Wellness Academy is the home for healers. Through honesty and experience, Rachael Davies and Michelle Staniland have created a space where transformation feels achievable. They’ve shown that success in wellness is about balance, compassion, and the courage to live your purpose. With the right tools and mindset, anyone can build a career that aligns with their values and has a positive impact on others. They teach from experience, guiding practitioners through the same struggles they once faced. They inspire others to take that same brave step they once did: to start from within, to believe in themselves, and to build something that lasts. Because transformation, as they’ve always said, begins on the inside and grows outward into every life you touch.
