In Her Head Course - Dr Sarah McKay

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Online training in women’s brain health: From biology to biography to neuroplasticity.

Next 5-day training: 17-21 November 2025

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Deepen your expertise in women's brain health and neurobiology.

IHH is a continuing professional development training created for coaches, therapists, educators, mental health and well-being practitioners who work with girls and women.

Women's brain health is finally getting the attention it deserves, but much of what’s shared in the media lacks nuance or evidence. IHH offers a grounded, no-fluff, science-first alternative.

IHH focuses on group discussions to consolidate learning and share tools, strategies and knowledge.

Pre-register for November 2025

A comprehensive content update is planned for release in November 2025.

a. Watch for a welcome to the course!

b. Curriculum overview

In Her Head provides an overview of female brain development, maturity and ageing across the lifespan: in utero, childhood, puberty, pregnancy, menopause and ageing.

11 lessons consider questions such as:

++ How does in-utero life and early childhood trauma affect adult relationships?

++ Do expectations of gender really matter?

++ Why are girls and women more vulnerable to stress, anxiety and depression than boys and men?

++ How do ovarian hormones affect brain functions such as cognition and emotion?

++ Why are puberty, pregnancy and menopause 'windows of opportunity + vulnerability' in women's lives.

++ What causes brain fog during menopause? And does HRT help or hinder brain ageing?

++ What lifestyle approaches nurture and protect brain health?

IHH doesn’t offer generic wellness advice or one-size-fits-all brain facts. Instead, it explores sex differences, hormones, mental health, social context, and neuroplasticity through the lens of lifespan development and lived experience.

You'll maintain a strong focus on the development of health communication skills and the formulation of a 'shared language' for communicating neuroscience – an often overlooked component of professional development training.

A comprehensive content update for CPD purposes is planned for release in 2025.

Pre-register interest

Scroll to the FAQs for info about live calls and fees

How is training delivered online?

Like many online courses, each lesson includes a short lecture, reading, worksheets, and live class discussions held twice daily via Zoom.

Unlike most online courses, each lecture is audio-only (so you can learn anywhere, anytime, podcast-style). We also focus on live class conversations and sharing experiences and professional insights.

Making learning fun.

With her trademark wry sense of humour, Sarah highlights key concepts, recommended implementation tasks and answers to your many questions.

Each lesson begins with a pre-recorded short podcast-style lecture. Sarah will also share intriguing behind-the-scenes conversations with scientists, doctors and and women's health experts.

For women, by women, about women.

In Her Head is a professional development training for people who work with women or who seek to understand their own life journey through the lens of neurobiology.

IHH culminates in (voluntary) student presentations on topics of interest chosen from the curriculum. These short talks foster community, support integration into personal practice, and create space to share wisdom.

c. Certificate & Professional Development Hours

IHH is accredited by the International Coaching Federation & fulfils requirments for CPD.

Neuroscientist Dr Sarah McKay standing in front of a blue background, smiling at the camera. This photographs represents how much Sarah enjoys science communication and sharing neuroscience in a fun and engaging way through her online training courses, keynote speaking, and her brain health books.

d. Who is Dr Sarah McKay?

I’m the Director of Think Brain and The Neuroscience Academy suite of professional training courses which have provided online training in applied neuroscience and brain health to over 2,500 professionals since launching in 2015.

As a neuroscientist, science communicator, and author, I bring rigour, real-world context and humour to this topic.

IHH is a professional training program developed alongside the release of the second edition of The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones, and Happiness (as seen on the Mel Robbins Podcast!).

e. The Women's Brain Book (2nd ed)

It's a course requirement to have a copy of the second edition of The Women's Brain Book (published in 2025).

Print, ebook and audio versions are all suitable.

Click here for links to bookstores, or contact me directly if you're unable to source a copy.

Yes!

It is a course requirement to have a copy of the second edition of The Women's Brain Book (published in 2025). Print, ebook and audio are all suitable.

Click here for links to bookstores, or connect with me directly if you can't source a copy.

f. In Her Head: the nature, nurture and neurobiology of the female brain.

We'll explore how our lives shape our brains, and our brains shape our lives.

Pre-register for 2025 training

For 2024 only, and pending a comprehensive update of the curriculum we offer on-demand access to the existing online content. Live training + CPD certification will recommence in 2025.

I signed up to In Her Head after reading Sarah's book. I wanted to further understand women's brain health and neurobiology as this is something that is generally not spoken about in conventional medical training - to the detriment of our female patients. Even if you don't work within healthcare, it's a fascinating journey to learn more about yourself or the women in your life.

Dr Hazel Wallace BSc MSc MBBCh

Medical Doctor, Nutritionist & Host of The Food Medic Podcast

What a wonderful and insightful course. I found the content fascinating, interesting and relevant. I found Sarah to be a wealth of knowledge but also very engaging, approachable and amusing! What a delight to have a group of like-minded individuals to learn with from all over the world. Fantastic investment, and I have used the knowledge I’ve gained daily.

Petra Joly
Chinese Medicine Women’s Health Practitioner

After Sarah’s first program, The Neuroscience Academy, I learned so much I started a new business ‘The Best is Yet to Come’ offering workshops on mindset shifts, health and well-being for older women. When Sarah offered ‘In Her Head’, I naturally jumped at the opportunity to focus in more depth on the female brain. I learnt so much about my own brain I wish I’d known years ago! I loved talking to women all over the world about our experiences of navigating the stages of life and having the chance to dig deeper with Sarah on our weekly calls. Since the pandemic, I’ve had to cancel my workshops so I’m now writing my own book about women growing older. Thanks, Sarah, for being such an inspiration and an exceptional guide to all things neuroscience.

Kay Hannaford
Mentor & Coach

Having completed Sarah’s Applied Neuroscience and Brain Health Course earlier in the year and getting so much from it, I did not think twice about enrolling in the In Her Head course. I was not disappointed! The course follows through the material from Sarah’s book and takes the research understanding and discussions around it much deeper. The style of the In Her Head course is perhaps a little less formal and more relaxed than The Neuroscience Academy’s main program, but the depth of the materials and the knowledge gained is just as impressive. The learning achieved on this course is benefitting my personal and professional life. Highly recommended!

Helen Barnes
Life Coach

Dr Sarah McKay has created a wonderfully clear course on what it means to be a female, from the perspective of a neuroscientist. With equal parts neuroscience, hormones and psychology, the course, along with the companion book, The Women’s Brain Book, tackles topics that should interest all females and those that interact with them. Sarah style of teaching and writing makes the material accessible to the lay person, but its content addresses recent important findings in relevant areas of neuroscience. It opened my mind to important new, as well as some old, ideas. I highly recommend it.

Louise White
Melbourne, Australia

Taking part of the neuroscience in her head course frightened me but excited me too. The knowledge Sarah has is incredible and the way she breaks information down into understandable segments is golden. The course has helped me beyond what I expected and I am now able to implement these learnings to help enhance the lives and health of my clients. I absolutely love the approachable manner Sarah has, no question is silly and she allows you to learn science of the brain with ease.

Alison Stockton
Health & Wellness Lifestyle Coach

The course In Her Head felt like streamlined access to the wealth of Sarah’s wisdom, knowledge, insights and expertise. Not only have these new learnings enhanced my own life, but I feel better placed to support those I work with and care for. As a coach supporting mothers navigating career and care, many principles I work with were explained through the lens of neuroscience. Having completed the course, I believe anyone working to support others can only benefit from acquiring a deeper and more thorough understanding of the magnificent human brain, Sarah makes the process simple and super fun.

Gabrielle Gleeson
Career & Business Coach

One of the things I was most impressed with throughout the course was Sarah's teaching and writing style. Neuroscience is full of technical terms which i found a little scary at first, but Sarah has a wonderful way of communicating all of that information in plain English, in a way that I was able to understand. The teaching style was such that we learnt the same information in three different ways, through reading, videos and conversation, making sure we consolidated what we'd learnt.

The Zoom classroom sessions were very interesting too, I loved listening to the other women's experiences, many of whom work with women and girls in a number of ways and were able to readily contextualise the information into their own profession. I was worried I would find these sessions a little daunting and intimidating however Sarah's style of encouraging participation made me feel at ease quite quickly.

Colleen Pearson
HR Consultant

Being a former lawyer with a critical mind, I am always a little sceptical when people “teach” neuroscience when they are not themselves neuroscientists. With Sarah, I felt guided in the complex world of neuroscience that is full of debates and controversy. Sarah was our trusted guide, very knowledgeable of course, and very engaging in her writings, videos and live discussions. She’s very personable and real. Moreover, unlike other scientists/experts, Sarah can explain neuroscience in a way that we can relate to. I love the examples and stories she tells to bring the point across. The stories stick, so the learning sticks.

I feel empowered and equipped to apply more neuroscience to my coaching and I now speak more confidently on neuroscience having done the course. Also, the course has helped to debunk a lot of myths about the differences in the brain between male and female, and this contributes greatly to my work in Diversity and Inclusion.

Joanna Chin
Executive Coach, Hong Kong SAR

g. FAQs

2025 enrolment info and fees

Enrolment for November 2025 will open on 7th November and remain open for 10 days before the training starts on 17th November.

You'll be sent reminder emails with info on how to enrol. Please pre-register your interest.

In November 2025, our enrolment fee is $599 USD.

A monthly payment plan and AUD options will be available.

In 2025, global currency exchange rates shift regularly. Click here to get a rough idea of exchange rates.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Our scholarship initiative focuses on supporting individuals from low- and middle-income nations, as well as those in full-time education. These criteria are part of our commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive learning opportunities, especially for those who might otherwise not have access to neuroscience training.

We offer IHH scholarships of 50% reduced fees for full-time university/college students or residents of low and middle-income countries.

Please reply to Ley for information on how to apply: [email protected]

What time are the Zoom calls scheduled?

In 2025, live 90-minute Zoom calls will occur twice daily at 7 am and 7 pm AEDT (Sydney, Australia) every day for five consecutive days.

In summary, there are two daily calls (Call A and Call B). You can attend either call (or both if you're keen!)

All calls are recorded for those who are unable to attend.

Call A

Sydney 7 am AEDT (Mon-Fri)
London 8 pm GMT (Sun-Thurs)
New York 3 pm EST (Sun-Thurs)
Click to check your local time zone

Call B

Sydney 7 pm AEDT (Mon-Fri)
London 8 am GMT (Mon-Fri)
New York 3 am EST (Mon-Fri)
Click to check your local time zone

How many hours will I need to complete the training?

In 2025, the In Her Head course is offered as a five-day intensive training.

You should set aside at least 90 minutes daily to attend the Zoom call. There are two calls per day, covering all global time zones. Zoom calls are recorded for those who are unable to attend.

Additional reading and audio lectures are optional and can be read or listened to at a later time.

For those pressed for time, similar content will be covered in the pre-recorded audio lectures and the live Zoom call.

All students are granted ongoing access to the online lessons, resources and worksheets to complete at their own pace.

Students who wish to claim a certificate of completion are invited to present a five-minute talk on a topic of their choice from the training.

Is there an exam?

Are there prerequisites to join?

Many IHH students are Neuroscience Academy or Bootcamp alumni, but the neuroscience programs are not prerequisites.

IHH is open to any professional woman interested in expanding her knowledge about women's brain health and neurobiology.

Our group discussions focus on female brain health and neurobiology and the sharing of personal stories, wisdom and professional experience. Please email Sarah directly to discuss your eligibility.

Will you run the course again?

Can I see an example of your teaching style?

Is the course accredited?

On the use of biological sex and gendered language.

A quick note about inclusive language.

I’m aware some people prefer not to use sexed terms such as ‘woman’, ‘mother’, ‘girl’ or ‘breastfeeding’ in women's health and reproduction discussions.

There are good intentions behind the use of inclusive language or de-sexed synonyms, not least respecting the needs of biologically female people who do not consider themselves to be women or mothers because of their gender identity.

In this course, I follow the plain language principles of health and science communication (Gribble, 2022).

I’ve asked myself, am I discussing biological sex or gender? How can I compare research on young and adult humans to that of other mammals? How can I be clear, concise and scientifically precise? How can I ensure that people from diverse cultural backgrounds, different levels of scientific literacy, and varying language proficiency levels understand what I mean?

Unless I state otherwise, when I use the words ‘woman’ or 'girl' or 'mother' in my course, I’m referring to biological females.

My choice of sexed language is for scientific clarity and is not intended to exclude or marginalise anyone or any group of people.

Refund policy

I want you to be happy with your purchase, and to give your best effort to apply the strategies and learnings from the course.

I offer a 7-day refund period for purchase of the 5-day course if you believe the course is of unacceptable quality or does not match the curriculum description.

Refunds will not be provided more than 7 days following the date of purchase. After day 7, all payments are non-refundable and you are responsible for full payment of the fees for the program whether or not you complete the program. Refunds will not be made due to a change of mind or similar.

Please note: If you opt for a payment plan and you do not request a refund within 7 days, you are legally required to complete all the remaining payments of your payment plan.

All refunds are discretionary as determined by Dr Sarah McKay trading as Think Brain Pty Ltd ABN 19626919266.

We may revise and update Terms of Use or Refund Policy from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them.

h. Pre-register your interest for November 17-21,2025 training.

Next 5-day online training: 17-21 November 2025.

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