New institute hopes to help people, businesses go from surviving to thriving

Megan Gunnell has the same challenges as any working woman, mother and business owner: She has a lot on her plate and she wants to do everything perfectly.

Megan Gunnell

Here’s how Gunnell differs: She knows that perfection, while lovely, isn’t necessarily achievable. Rather, the trained clinician knows that looking to grow, embracing the ride and taking on new projects means finding balance in a different way. Rather than survive, Gunnell wants to help women and men find ways to thrive.

That desire to help others be their best brought Gunnell to found Thriving Well Institute. The newly created organization is holding its launch event Sunday, June 2, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Madison in downtown Detroit.

During the afternoon event, more 100 guests will enjoy four TED style speakers focusing on thriving in life, in physical health, in financial health and through intuition. The event is open to the public, Gunnell said.

Practicing gratitude
Gunnell is a Grosse Pointe Park-based psychotherapist, speaker, writer and international retreat leader. She has more than 20 years of experience helping thousands of clients move from surviving to thriving through a wellness model of self-care, mindfulness and positivity.

Personally, she believes in eating great food (her husband is a master chef who owns his own bakery that regularly holds pop-up dinners). She loves to travel and hosts retreats around the world. She also believes whole-heartedly that practicing gratitude, self-care and mindfulness are the foundation of thriving and living in joy.

As a psychotherapist, Gunnell has built a reputable practice and offers a coaching arm through the institute that can help other therapists and wellness providers learn how to achieve the same success. She also offers a unique arm of coaching designed for co-founders and business partners who may need a boost in their communication and interpersonal relationship skills.

She developed The Thriving Well Institute with a simple mission: To help people and businesses thrive. Her goal is to make “a thriving lifestyle easy to access through coaching, events and speaking,” she said.

“It’s a specific formula of learning how to maintain a commitment to healthy self-care without feeling guilty or selfish, a solid understanding of how to practice mindfulness, which brings us into the joy of the now and a way to shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance,” Gunnell said.

Her Thriving Well events and keynotes aim to leave employees feeling inspired and equipped with a toolbox full of strategies to improve their physical health, mental health and help them build stronger relationships at work and at home.