Wyona M. Freysteinson, PhD, MN, RN, FAAN

Contact

wfreysteinson@twu.edu
713-794-2891
HOU 7410

Biography

My nursing work has spanned emergency, neurosurgery, intensive care, medicine, home health, and hospice. I have held positions as a clinical generalist, hospital educator, performance improvement specialist, facilitator, and nursing director. In the PhD nursing program, I teach philosophy, nursing theory, scholarship, literature review, and writing for publication.

In my clinical work, I realized the mirror viewing experience was distressful for those who suffered visible disfigurement due to trauma, surgery, or disease. A research trajectory of over 30 years on the experience of viewing visible or invisible scars/differences/battle spots in mirrors has resulted in the development of a mid-range nursing theory: Neurocognitive Model of Mirror- Viewing. This theory purports that supported mirror viewing interventions will improve mirror- viewing comfort, well-being, self-care i.e., wound care, decrease mirror avoidance, and prevent falls during the initial mirror viewing after visible disfigurement.

The Texas Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Memorial Hermann, and Memorial Hermann Southeast hospitals have educated their nurses and purchased approximately 150 small handheld & rolling full-length mirrors. TIRR has recently made the supportive mirror-viewing educational module available to all caregivers in the Memorial Hermann System.

Women with disabilities embraced this mirror work in their quest for self-acceptance. I am the co-founder and vice president of a Women with Disabilities Empowerment Forum. The embodied shame of military sexual trauma uncovered in a study of homeless women veterans viewing self in a mirror, society, and intimacy has led to board positions on two veteran organizations: Grace after Fire and Combined Arms. I am a Sigma Theta Tau Faculty Scholar, a member of the American Holistic Nursing Association research committee, Past Director and founder of a Parish Nursing Ministry, Past Director and co-founder of a St. Vincent de Paul chapter, and Past President of Sigma Beta Beta Chapter, Houston.

Education

Ph.D., Science of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas
M.S., Education, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
B.S.N., University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Dipl, Saskatchewan Institute of Science and Technology, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Research Interests

The Embodied Experience of Mirror-Viewing, i.e., Terminal Illness; Amputation; Mastectomy; Veterans, Sexual Trauma; Accent Modification for Self-Perceived Accents; Leadership Experience of Nursing Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Latest Articles

Music in academia for undergraduate nursing students: A randomized controlled study.
Nursing Education Perspectives (2024)
J Contreras, A Malecha, S Cesario, W M Freysteinson

Exploring Mirror Perspectives Among African American Women Living with Obesity at a Primary Care Clinic in the United States
Journal of Advanced Nursing (2024)
Catherine Mbango, Harriet Omondi

Understanding obesity in African American women using Leininger's theory
Nursing Science Quarterly (2024)
H Omondi, Wyona M Freysteinson

Diversifying healthcare leadership in the United States
Journal of Nursing Management (2024)
J Dolinta, Wyona M Freysteinson

Factors that influence nurse managers' intent to leave their current position: An integrative literature review
Journal of Nursing Measurement (2023)
Jeniffer Dolinta, Wyona Freysteinson

The mirror viewing experience of women undergoing a mastectomy: an integrative review
Journal of Advanced Nursing (2023)
Tracy Tyner, Wyona M Freysteinson

Caring in nursing education: The role of the educator.
International Journal for Human Caring (2023)
S. M. Gillson, Wyona Freysteinson

My body, my choice: A qualitative study of women's mastectomy with flat closure experiences
Body Image (2023)
Tracy Tyner, Wyona Freysteinson

Demystifying the experience of participating in a root cause analysis: A hermeneutic phenomenological study
Applied Nursing Research (2023)
Tamu Abreu, Wyona Freysteinson

Identifying holistic nursing research priorities for 2023-2026
Journal of Holistic Nursing (2023)
Wyona M Freysteinson, M Enzman Hines, D Wardell, M Friesen, S Conrad

Response to the letter to the editor: the mirror and obesity: A systematic review on the effects of mirror exposure on behaviour and obese individuals.
Journal of Clinical Nursing (2023)
Harriet Omondi, Wyona Freysteinson

A concept analysis of clinical reqret in women with breast cancer
Nursing Forum (2022)
Tracy Tyner, Wyona M Freysteinson

Promoting Self-Management of Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema Through the Remotivation Process
The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (2022)
K Rubio, P Bowyer, P Hite, V Spingale, W Freysteinson

Experiences of viewing self in the mirror for men and women with dementia as perceived by their caregivers: A phenomenological study
Applied Nursing Research (2021)
June Kelsick, Wyona M. Freysteinson, Elizabeth Young, Rachel Nurse

You're acting womanish! A qualitative descriptive research of the experiences of African American women in menopausal transition
Journal of Women & Aging (2021)
C Aririquzo, B Spencer, W M Freysteinson

A concept analysis of decision regret in women with breast cancer.
Nursing Forum (2021)
Tracy Turner, Wyona M Freysteinson

Factors associated with parental perceptions of human papillomavirus among African American daughters: An integrative review
Oncology Nursing Forum (2021)
S. Dike, W M Freysteinson

The experience of nursing leadership in a crisis: A hermeneutical phenomenological study.
Journal of Nursing Management (2021)
Wyona M Freysteinson

The mirror and obesity: a systematic review on the effects of mirror exposure on behavior and obese individuals
Journal of Clinical Nursing (2021)
H. Omondi, Wyona M Freysteinson

The Remotivation Process as a Telehealth OT Program to Promote Self-Management in Women With Breast-Cancer-Related Lymphedema.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2021)
K Rubio, P Bowyer, V Pingale, W Freysteinson, et al.

Promoting self-management of breast cancer-related lymphedema through the remotivation process.
The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (2021)
K Rubio, P Bowyer, S Hite, S Pingale, W Freysteinson

Development and validation of the mirror image comfort and avoidance scale (MICAS)
Disability and Rehabilitation (2021)
W. Freysteinson, Rebecca Keele, P. Yeatts, D. Douglas, K. Reeves

Development and validation of the mirror image comfort & acceptance scale (MICAS).
Disability and Rehabilitation (2021)
Wyona M Freysteinson, B Keele, P Yeatts, K Reeves, T Celia

Writing for Scholarship: Synthesis of the Literature
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (2020)
Wyona M Freysteinson, J Stankus

Self-reflection and its relationship to occupational competence and clinical performance in level 11 fieldwork
The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice (2020)
S Iliff, P Bowyer, D Parham, T Fletcher, W Freysteinson

Transforming the experience of mirror viewing for individuals faced with disfiguring injuries
Clinical Nurse Specialist: A Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice (2020)
B Thayer, Wyona M Freysteinson, L. Thomas

Educating nurses on supported mirror viewing for patients after amputation and other visible disfigurements.
Rehabilitation Nursing (2020)
Wyona M Freysteinson, Sarbarker L, Gobeli L, et al.

The remotivation process as a telehealth program for breast cancer-related lymphedema
ORJR: Occupation, Participation and Health (2020)
K Rubio, P Bowyer, W Freysteinson, et al.

Demystifying the mirror taboo: a neurocognitive model of mirror viewing.
Nursing Inquiry (2020)
Wyona M Freysteinson

A synopsis of Ricoeur's phenomenology of the will: Implications for nursing practice, research, and education.
Journal of Holistic Nursing (2019)
Wyona M Freysteinson

Occupational therapy student conceptions of self-reflection in level II fieldwork.
Journel of Occupational Therapy Education (2019)
S Lliff, P Bowyer, DL Parham, T Fletcher, Wyona Freysteinson

Battle weary/battle ready: a phenomenological study of parents of autistic children's experiences with safety
Journal of Advanced Nursing (2019)
T Celia, Wyona M Freysteinson

Youth-onset type 2 diabetes in primary practice: A review
Journal of Pediatric Nursing: Nursing Care of Children and Families (2019)
K Gonzalez, Wyona Freysteinson

The language of scholarship: How to write an abstract that tells a compelling story
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (2019)
Wyona M Freysteinson, J Stankus

School and community-based nurse-led asthma interventions for school-aged children and their parents: A systematic literature review.
Journal of Pediatric Nursing: Nursing Care of Children and Families (2019)
I Elif, N Fredland, Wyona Freysteinson

Perceptions of women veterans with military sexual trauma of the embodied self: mirror, societal, and intimacy self-images.
Issues in Mental Health Nursing (2018)
Wyona M Freysteinson, Susan Mellott, Tania Celia, Jinlun Du, Marilyn Goff

An accent modification program
Journal of Professional Nursing (2017)
Wyona M Freysteinson, Joshua Adams, Sandra Cesario, Hanna Belay, Paula Clutter

Mirror Therapy: can be this technique used on facial disfigurement?
Revista E-Psi (2017)
Jose Mendes, Wyona Freysteinson, R Gamboa, V Pereira

Concurrent medical conditions in autism spectrum disorders.
Pediatric Nursing (2016)
T. Celia, R. E. Frye, W. M. Freysteinson

A Study of the amputee experience of viewing self in a mirror
Rehabilitation Nursing (2016)
Wyona M Freysteinson, L Thomas, A Sebastian-Deutsch, D Douglas, D Melton

Establishing a research council in home health and hospice
Home Health Care Management and Practice (2015)
Wyona M. Freysteinson, B. Albritton, D. Arnold, R. Hernandez, T. Moore

The amputee experience of viewing self in the mirror. Research poster 4895
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2015)
Wyona M Freysteinson, Denika Douglas, Lisa Thomas, Amy Sebastian-Deutsch, Kristin Reeves

An intervention for the postmastectomy mirror experience
International Journal of Women's Health and Reproduction Sciences (2015)
Wyona M Freysteinson

The language of scholarship: how to rapidly locate and avoid common APA errors
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (2015)
Wyona M Freysteinson

Current Projects

The aim of "The Mirror Project" research trajectory is to validate a newly developed mirror image tool, train nurses in a supportive mirror intervention, and study the effect of this intervention on individuals who have suffered disfiguring injuries. Current studies include: The Development of a Tool to Measure Viewing One's Image in a Mirror: The Mirror Image Comfort Acceptance Scale (MICAS). Nurses' Confidence in and Frequency of Supporting Patients in Mirror-viewing: A Feasibility Study of a Mirror Educational Program. and The Effect of a Supportive Mirror Intervention on Mirror Viewing, Body Image, and Quality of Life for Individuals who have had an Amputation of a Limb: A Feasibility Study.

Externally Funded Projects

Experiences of Baccalaureate Senior Nursing Students during COVID-19
Sigma Beta Beta | $1,000.00 | 2021
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

The Development of a Tool to Measure Viewing Self in the Mirror: The Mirror Image Comfort & Acceptance Scale
Sigma Theta Tau International - Honor Society of Nursing Beta Beta Chapter | $2,000.00 | 2018
Role: Principal Investigator

I am my Body: The Effect of Therapeutic Storytelling for Woman Veterans with Military Sexual Trauma
Sigma Theta Tau International - Honor Society of Nursing | $1,000.00 | 2018
Role: Principal Investigator

Nurses Confidence in and Frequency of Supporting Patients in Mirror-Viewing after Body Disfigurement Year 1 of 2
Texas Institute of Rehabilitation and Research | $8,000.00 | 2017
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Internally Funded Projects

3991 Biolog equipment to be used for mirror interventional research
Texas Woman's University | $6,353.00 | 2020
Research Grant

The Development of a Tool to Measure Viewing One's Image in a Mirror: The Mirror Image Comfort & Acceptance Scale (MICAS)
Texas Woman's University | $9,995.00 | 2018
Research Grant

Body Image Issues of Homeless Female Veterans with Visible or Invisible Bodily Changes who are Re-building their Civilian Lives
Texas Woman's University Dean's Funds | $715.00 | 2016
Research Grant

Professional Affiliations

• American Nurses Association
• Global Alliance for Arts and Healthcare
• Golden Key International Honor Society Member
• Holistic Nursing Association
• Institute for Spirituality and Health
• International Philosophy of Nursing Society
• Nursing Theory Collective, Nursology
• Nursology BILNOC Overdue Reckoning
• Oncology Nursing Society
• Sigma Theta Tau Beta Beta-Houston Chapter
• Southern Nurses Research Association
• Texas Nurses Association
• Textbook & Academic Authors Association
• The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science
• The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi