Post-Traumatic Growth: The Healing Power of Transformation

There’s a quiet resilience that lives beneath the surface of those who have faced pain and kept going. As a social worker and public health specialist who supported families and individuals navigating life’s hardest seasons, I’ve sat with countless people in the aftermath of loss, trauma, and upheaval. But I’ve also witnessed something extraordinary: post-traumatic growth.

Daria Burke, in her recent memoir, Of My Own Making, reflects on post-traumatic growth and how we can turn pain into power, I’ve come to see PTG not only through a clinical lens but also through a deeply personal one. As social workers, we hold space for what’s called “unconditional positive regard.” That means seeing someone’s full humanity, even in the darkest valleys. In that way, I’m reminded of what the author David Brooks once described, how crisis reveals the profoundly human in each of us, and how struggle, when framed differently, becomes a noble journey.

Moving Beyond “Bouncing Back”

We often hear phrases like bounce back or stay strong, especially in high-pressure environments like the military or caregiving communities. But when I think of “bounce,” I picture Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, lighthearted, whimsical, a little silly. Those aren't the emotions that typically arise after trauma. Pain is heavy. And healing, more often than not, is a process of becoming grounded, not bouncing. However, the term bounce allows for a more positive optimistic view, they may empower us to see that there is hope on the other side.

Post-traumatic growth invites us to reframe healing. It’s not about going back to who we were before. It’s about becoming someone new. Someone wiser. More intentional. More rooted in what matters most.

Growth doesn’t erase hardship. It lives beside it. And it asks: What has this experience taught me about myself, others, and the world around me?

Some of the most common areas of PTG include:

• A renewed appreciation for life

• Strengthened relationships and deeper compassion

• A shift in spiritual or existential beliefs

• Discovery of personal strength

• A clarified sense of purpose

In my past work in family work life, I’ve seen this transformation often. A mother discovers a community and passion for service after navigating the loneliness of separation. A service member uses lessons from past mistakes to mentor junior troops. A veteran channels an injury into advocacy and education. Families reimagine what it means to be connected after a loss. These aren’t extraordinary stories, they are profoundly human ones. And they remind us how adaptable and courageous the human spirit truly is.

The Research Behind the Growth

As a social worker, I turn to evidence to help explain what we feel. Research supports what we observe, PTG doesn’t just happen by chance. It’s nurtured through reflection, community, and meaning-making practices like journaling, therapy, spiritual exploration, storytelling, and trusted relationships.

Importantly, growth doesn’t require forgetting or bypassing the pain. Integration is the goal, making space for what’s happened and deciding how we carry it. We choose how we speak about our past. We choose the story we tell about who we’re becoming.

A Collective Reflection

Across diverse communities and life experiences, one truth becomes clear: trauma can crack us open, but in those broken places, something deeper can take root. When people are given space to process and are supported with compassion and connection, growth becomes more than a possibility, it becomes a pathway.

We must also shift our language. If we use words like cracked or crushed to describe what trauma has done, then we need equally rich language to describe what healing can create: restoration, reimagining, redefinition.

Post-traumatic growth reminds us that transformation often begins in the aftermath. It’s not neat. It’s not always visible. But it is powerful.

Growing Forward, Together

Post-traumatic growth isn’t linear. There’s no clear timeline. No checklist. It unfolds in surprising, often nonlinear ways. But it begins with a question, not “Why did this happen to me?” but “What now?”

PTG challenges us to believe that even after loss or trauma, we are still being shaped for something meaningful. That something beautiful can emerge, not in place of what was lost, but as a continuation of who we are becoming.

If you’re navigating grief, transition, or uncertainty, I want you to hear this: growth is still possible. You are not behind. You are becoming. This chapter may be the one where your resilience begins to write something new.