Post Traumatic Growth — The Silver Lining of Trauma
Trauma can be incredibly difficult to live with and heal from. This said, many people do manage to overcome their past experiences and grow as a result. This phenomenon is called post traumatic growth (PTG). According to Psychology Today, it is the “positive psychological change some individuals experience following a life crisis or traumatic event”. PTG grew out of the field of Positive Psychology, pioneered by Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun in the 1990’s.
Challenging Life Situations Can Yield Benefits
Estimates suggest that between half and two thirds of people experience a positive shift following adverse experiences. This phenomenon, known as post traumatic growth, shows that for many, the stress of turmoil — once it begins to settle — can lead to beneficial and even transformational outcomes. Such growth often comes from digging deep into resources we never knew we had in order to face life’s toughest challenges. These may include life-threatening illnesses, loss of loved ones, assaults, natural disasters, or the trauma of war.
“Our predecessors overcame many troubles and much suffering, but each time got back up stronger than before.” Shinzo Abe, ex-President of Japan
Areas of Post Traumatic Growth
Drawing on the foundational work of Tedeschi and Calhoun, post-traumatic growth (PTG) unfolds across five transformative domains, each offering a unique gateway to deeper healing after trauma. Here’s an expanded look at each, along with how somatic awareness can support them:
1. Greater Appreciation of Life
Many survivors emerge with a renewed capacity to savour everyday moments — the warmth of sunlight, a shared laugh, or a quiet breath. Trauma often reframes what truly matters, prompting a shift from superficial markers of success to the small, sustaining joys of daily life. Somatic practices — like stepping outside and feeling your feet on the earth or pausing to breathe into the abdomen — can help anchor and deepen this newfound gratitude. Healthline explains in greater depth what somatic practices are, and the benefits this work can yield.
2. Improved Interpersonal Relationships
Trauma can both fracture and redefine connection. Survivors often develop richer, more compassionate relationships — experiencing increased empathy, authenticity, and trust. These shifts are not merely cognitive; they are felt. In somatic work, we nurture relational safety through attuned touch (when appropriate), responsive presence, and boundary awareness — helping clients experience connection as embodied and mutual.
3. Personal Strength and Resilience
One of the most profound forms of growth is the recognition: “If I survived this, I can handle a lot.” This internal strength builds from the residue of struggle. Somatic therapy helps anchor this realization through practices that support bodily confidence — postural alignment, grounding contact, small empowered movements. These are not symbolic but physical reminders that the self can hold and move through intensity.
4. New Possibilities after Overcoming Trauma
Trauma often cracks open reality, allowing spaces for new paths, activities, or relationships to emerge — ones that previously felt unimaginable. This can include a new career, creative pursuit, or a service-oriented calling. In somatic work, as clients reconnect to their felt sensations, they often intuitively sense which direction feels alive, even if the mind can’t yet name it. Somatic attunement becomes a compass for exploration.
5. Spiritual or Existential Transformation
Whether articulated through religion, spirituality, or a broader existential re-evaluation, trauma can catalyse a fundamental shift in meaning-making. People often develop a deeper inquiry into purpose, values, and belonging. Somatic approaches, with their emphasis on felt experience, naturally support this process — inviting the body to speak where words fall short, and helping integrate shifts that feel both somatic and sacred.
Additional Domains Emerging in Post Traumatic Growth Literature
While these five domains remain core to PTG, research and practice often highlight additional areas of growth:
Greater Compassion and Altruism: Many survivors report increased empathy — not only toward loved ones but toward broader communities. Trauma can awaken a powerful desire to serve or hold space for others in suffering.
Creative Expansion: Some find themselves turning trauma into creative expression — through writing, art, movement, or advocacy. These creative energies are often healing in themselves.
Narrative and Meaning Integration: Reauthoring one’s trauma story — naming it, speaking it, weaving it into life’s narrative — supports coherence and legibility of experience. Somatic therapies support this by providing a felt context in which stories can land, shift, or integrate.
Gratitude: Some PTG frameworks include gratitude as its own domain. Survivor reflections often underscore how a daily practice of noticing what remains — of life’s minors and majors — fosters resilience and hope. Somatic presence strengthens this capacity.
Post Traumatic Growth: From Surviving to Thriving
Trauma can feel like an earthquake, reshaping the landscapes of our mind and body, shaking our worldview and core beliefs. We will not be the same as before, but we can learn to not only survive, but also thrive. This process is often referred to as post traumatic growth — the potential to discover strength, resilience, and new meaning in life after adversity. When we can’t change the past we often have to change ourselves in order to be able to deal with it.
That said, it is helpful to be realistic. The journey from the depths of anxiety and despair to thriving can be a long and difficult one. It is initially important not to focus too much on the possibility of growth, as it may seem a far-off and unattainable goal. Instead, it works best to build on existing resources, add new ones, and process the pain and suffering. The healing and post-traumatic growth often happen spontaneously and unexpectedly, arising as a natural part of the process.
“Childhood trauma can lead to an adulthood spent in survival mode, afraid to plant roots, to plan for the future, to trust, and to let joy in. It’s a blessing to shift from surviving to thriving. It’s not simple, but there is more than survival” Unknown.
How Can Somatic Sex Therapy Assist in the Process of Post Traumatic Growth?
According to Scientific American, “A key factor that allows us to turn adversity into advantage is the extent to which we fully explore our thoughts and feelings surrounding the event.” Somatic sex therapy works as a form of body-based trauma therapy, creating a safe container to explore sensations and emotions without overwhelming the nervous system.
In therapy, there can be a fine line between helping to make things better for clients and actually making symptoms worse through allowing the amount of emotional expression, or abreaction. This is why a trauma-informed approach is essential. It means neither suppressing difficult feelings nor forcing clients to dwell in them too long. On the one hand, this means not blocking out or ignoring uncomfortable feelings or sensations. If we do that, we are unlikely to experience the benefits of PTG.
On the other, it means not focusing on any discomfort for too long at a time. This is why I help clients to find ways to be able to ground themselves, and work using the principle of titration – working with a small bit of discomfort at a time, before pendulating back to feeling good. This way of working enables a safer and more effective way of exploring and integrating any difficult sensations.
The practice of mindfulness helps to learn to stay present with difficult thoughts, feelings and sensations. It is not an overnight fix and takes time, but the ability to stay in the moment strengthens over time. Trauma is often complex to work with, and the best way is by going slowly. If you have difficulty with dealing with overwhelming emotions and bodily sensations, these tips to learn to self-regulate can be a helpful start.
I offer trauma-informed somatic sex therapy sessions for individuals and couples, online and in person in Teesside (TS13) and London (NW2). If you’d like support in exploring post-traumatic growth and body-based healing, please get in touch.
Updated October 2025
“Tatiana is welcoming and professional. She explains everything before the treatment and invites questions. The space is quiet and has such a beautiful atmosphere. I highly recommend Tatiana as a somatic sex therapist.” Andrew