Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn tells her story of survival, which changed her life forever and lead to the creation of Metahab.
6 Stages of Metahabilitation
Stage One:
Acute Recovery
Stage Two:
Turning Point – Saying ‘Yes’ to Life
Stage Three:
Focus on Treatment – Conventional and Complementary
Stage Four:
Acceptance and Adaptation – A Time to Reflect
Stage Five:
Reintegration – Returning to Life; Introspection on Life’s Journey
Stage Six:
MetaHabilitation – Beyond Integration and Taking on the Future
“Meta, from the Greek meta, means after or ‘beyond’. Habilitate refers to ability; to make one capable. Rehabilitation means to restore, to reinstate one’s former ability and/or life. The word metahabilitation combines these words signifying and recognizing an individual’s ability, their capacity to surpass or exceed - to move beyond restoration following a challenge, trauma or crisis.
Metahabilitation began as a concept, developing into a model and finally a system or pathway to recovery that acknowledges the severity of a traumatic event, with its unimaginable spectrum of physical, psychological and spiritual pain, but promotes the survivor’s ultimate mastery over that pain, recognizing their abilities and inner strength for survival and ultimately, for growth after trauma and crisis. The event is a moment of before and after, a pivotal point. Metahabilitation uses that point to build on the human capacity to endure and survive, but more importantly, to thrive; not in spite of the trauma or crisis, but as a direct result of the experience.”
about the originator
I am Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn, the force behind MetaHab, creator of the Post-Traumatic Growth Conferences, and a best-selling author. With over 25 years of experience, I’ve dedicated my career to helping transform adversities and traumas into triumph and growth, providing programs for individuals, professionals, and companies to recognize and reclaim their strength—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
My journey began with my survival. In 1990, I died. With the help of some amazing doctors providing over 20 minutes of CPR, I was brought back to life. That experience took me through some very tough times but also fueled my passion for resilience, trauma care, and the research that created MetaHabilitation, a pioneering approach guiding survivors toward Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG).
I am the author of multiple publications, including Turning Tragedy Into Triumph, which reveals how individuals and communities uniquely use traumas and challenges to move beyond survival and, over time, utilize these experiences for growth. I continue to research, lecture, and apply Metahabilitation in a variety of recovery and rehabilitation settings in Canada, Italy, the UK, and the US to help survivors, including veterans, first responders, individuals dealing with addiction and dependency, cancer patients, caregivers, and clinicians, experience PTG.
I hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of San Francisco, a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) credential from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Sacramento State University, and a Doctor of Education from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California. I have been a Family Nurse Practitioner for over 25 years and have held faculty positions at the University of California, Davis, Touro University, and Samuel Merritt College. I am a Professor at Sacramento State University in the School of Nursing.
My new book, Anatomy of a Survivor: Building Resilience Grit & Growth After Trauma, details the exact makeup of survivors, describing how they used their inner strength to build resilience, navigate through, and ultimately grow from traumas and major life challenges. Trauma and crisis are inescapable aspects of life. Generally framed as something to get over, trauma never fully leaves those who survive it. For over two decades, I have worked with and studied the issues survivors face. Interlacing stories with research on genetics, posttraumatic growth, and the neuroscience of resilience and happiness, this book outlines how survivors of trauma structure a positive and productive response, shows how survivors are built, and presents a unique system guiding them forward.
To order, visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.
To learn more about her personal story, click here.
areas of research: survivorship, resilience, post-traumatic growth
Instructional and research focus: Trauma Informed Care and Neuroscience. Dr. Mikal-Flynn’s academic, research, and clinical concentration involves trauma and the use of Metahabilitation© as a clinical pathway to support resilience and guide one toward growth post-trauma. She also lectures on two facets of neuroscience: gender differences in the brain and exercise and brain health.
Discouraged with current rehabilitation models, her doctoral research focused on developing and organizing a new model promoting a more productive and positive recovery process. Her research lead to Metahabilitation, a philosophy and system of recovery and rehabilitation promoting posttraumatic growth (PTG). This initial work was followed by the publication of her book: Turning Tragedy Into Triumph. Metahabilitation; A Contemporary Model of Rehabilitation. Her ongoing research and writing focuses on recovery, survivorship and posttraumatic growth in several areas utilizing and promoting metahabilitation in clinical areas including chronic illnesses, PTSD, athletes post participation, oncology, addiction and dependency.
She presents nationally and internationally including professional conferences in Hong Kong; Cardiff, Wales; Belfast, Ireland, Cambridge, UK and Barcelona, Spain. Several peer-reviewed published articles by Dr. Mikal-Flynn appear in national and international publications. Besides her book, she published three workbooks: a survivor workbook, a family and friend workbook, and a metahabilitation workshop workbook. Additionally, she created a Wellness Journal designed to promote overall mental health and wellness. Finally, a clinician manual is used in her training workshops and certification courses.
what is MetaHabilitation
Individuals experience crisis when the estimation of resources needed to successfully manage trauma, crisis or a catastrophic situation are greater than resources perceived available. Current biomedical models of rehabilitation and recovery are insufficient. They fail to focus on and incorporate the individual’s capacity for survival and utilization of prior successful experiences with trauma in the therapeutic planning for their recovery, rehabilitation, and growth potential post-trauma.
Metahabilitation©, a recovery philosophy and system, recognizes the individual’s capacity and promotes each person’s biological, psychological and spiritual ability to survive but, more importantly, to grow, to be transformed and experience a higher level of functioning brought about by life crisis, trauma, even catastrophe. These events become opportunities for survivors to creatively restructure one’s self, find meaning in their suffering, diminishing fear and frustration by recognizing their ability to turn personal tragedy into triumph (Viktor Frankl; Man’s Search for Meaning).
Extensive research, literary review and interviews with survivors and their families revealed insights into this concept. Troubling and unacceptable limitations in current rehab and recovery models provided the rationale and motivation for Metahabilitation, a system or clinical pathway guiding one toward a more productive outcome after trauma. Stages, characteristics and facilitating conditions of metahabilitated survivors were discovered supporting this system and emphasizing a potential additive effect – suggesting its utilization in conjunction with other recovery models and methods to support growth post-trauma.
assumptions
I have developed six assumptions to elaborate and clarify the concepts supporting Metahabilitation©, a system to promote and guide posttraumatic growth. They are adapted from Tom Greening’s 1964 work on "The Five Basic Postulates of Humanistic Psychology."
Major traumas, personal life crises and catastrophic events all disrupt an individual’s status quo. Adjustments of biological homeostasis and self-concept are required in order to effectively address the disequilibrium.
Such profound life experiences provide human beings opportunities for significant physical, intellectual and spiritual growth and development.
Human beings possess the ability to adapt and ultimately become stronger when faced with severe disruption or danger to their homeostasis.
Humans have the potential and capacity for this resilience.
Evidence of it is found extensively in the evolutionary and biophysical world.
Human beings innately are or can become goal-oriented, possessing an awareness of their power to influence events, seek meaning and creatively reconstruct their future.
Direct utilization of this model and system requires a review of the stages, characteristics and facilitating conditions.
Six Stages of MetaHabilitation
Personal Characteristics of the Metahabilitated Survivor
Facilitating Conditions: Support for Metahabilitation
For questions and comments, feel free to contact jmf@metahab.com.