From Survivors to Peace: The Journey Beyond Trauma

Larry Keating, Founder of Transitions Counseling Services, Smithtown, NY-

At Transitions Counseling Services, we specialize in helping people move from surviving to thriving. As a veteran and a mental health professional, I’ve witnessed firsthand how trauma—especially trauma rooted in childhood—can shape the way we view ourselves and the world around us.

Survivors often carry more than just memories; they carry a worldview shaped by pain. And because many of these wounds began early in life, they are often invisible to the person experiencing them. The symptoms—depression, anxiety, emotional shutdown, hypervigilance—are often accepted as "just how life is."

But once someone begins therapy—often for something as seemingly straightforward as depression—they begin to realize that what they’re experiencing is not just sadness. It’s unprocessed trauma. And the realization that this pain has been with them all along can be both disorienting and liberating.

Traditionally, the next step in therapy is to unpack the trauma. But I want to offer something else: what if, instead of starting with the pain, we begin by uncovering the gift?

In his book A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle writes about the “pain body”—a collection of unresolved emotional pain that feeds on more negativity. Similarly, Louise Hay taught that our thoughts shape our reality. Wayne Dyer explored the concept of duality, teaching that every negative has an equal and opposite positive waiting to emerge.

Neuroscience tells us the movement from negative to positive happens in the frontal lobe—but in my experience, this shift is more than neurological. It's spiritual.

This movement—from survivor to peace—isn't linear. It takes time. It depends on the depth of the trauma and the person’s readiness. But in every case, the transformation begins when we help the individual reframe who they are: not just someone who survived, but someone who carries wisdom because of what they’ve endured.

This is especially true for high-achieving professionals and CEOs, who often lead entire organizations while quietly wrestling with their own pain. At Transitions Counseling Services, we offer a space for leaders to confront what’s behind the mask, to reconnect with themselves, and to move toward peace.

Because trauma doesn’t define us—but how we heal from it can.