As a psychologist who uses narrative therapy and strengths-based approaches in my work, I often reach for the Tree of Life Therapy activity when people need a safe, non-threatening way to tell their story without being retraumatized. It’s simple, visual, and empowering: instead of digging for pathology, we map resources, relationships, hopes, and history. The goal of Tree of Life Narrative Therapy is to help people notice the skills and connections that have sustained them and to expand possibilities for a preferred future.
Tree of Life Therapy History & Background 
The Tree of Life Therapy approach emerged in the early 2000s during community-based psychosocial work in Southern Africa. At that time, practitioners were seeking ways to support children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, war, displacement, trauma, poverty, and systemic oppression. Traditional Western diagnostic approaches were not culturally aligned, often re-traumatizing, and did not acknowledge the rich cultural knowledge, communal identity, and spiritual traditions that sustained these communities.
Tree of Life Therapy Origins and development
- Ncazelo Ncube, a Zimbabwean psychologist and community worker, co-created Tree of Life Therapy while working at REPSSI (Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative).
- David Denborough and colleagues at the Dulwich Centre helped refine, document, and disseminate the Tree of Life Therapy approach internationally.
- The method draws heavily from narrative therapy, especially Michael White and David Epston’s ideas of externalizing problems, honoring cultural knowledge, and re-authoring identity through story. It is sometimes referred to as Tree of Life Narrative Therapy.
Why a tree?
This metaphor was intentionally chosen because:
- Trees hold deep cultural, spiritual, and ecological meaning across many societies.
- They illustrate growth, rootedness, nourishment, storms, resilience, and interconnectedness.
- The visual nature of drawing a tree gives participants distance and emotional safety while exploring identity.
Global expansion
Over time, the Tree of Life Therapy activity spread to:
- Schools, community centers, refugee camps, and crisis-response programs
- Trauma-informed youth services
- Indigenous communities using adapted versions
- Clinical settings as a therapeutic exercise
- Adult psychotherapy and life-transition work
- Family therapy and intergenerational healing groups
Because it is non-pathologizing, adaptable, and culturally inclusive, it has become one of the most widely disseminated narrative-based group interventions globally.
What the Tree of Life Therapy Activity is Used For
The Tree of Life Therapy activity is a flexible psychosocial and therapeutic tool. It is used across individual, group, educational, and community settings to achieve a range of emotional, clinical, and developmental goals.
Primary uses of the Tree of Life Therapy Activity include:
- Trauma-informed emotional support
- The Tree of Life exercise helps people tell their story without reliving traumatic memories.
- It allows clients to contextualize difficulties (“storms”) rather than internalizing shame.
- Strengths-based identity reconstruction
- The Tree of Life Therapy activity is beneficial for people whose identities have been diminished by hardship, stigma, or labels (e.g., “refugee,” “disabled,” “at-risk youth”).
- It encourages participants to reclaim narratives of capability, survival, and purpose.
- Enhancing resilience and coping skills
- Identifies protective factors (values, skills, relationships) that can be strengthened.
- Helps map internal and external resources.
- Supporting children and adolescents
- The Tree of Life Therapy activity can be used in schools facing community violence.
- It can help youth experiencing grief, academic stress, bullying, or family conflict.
- It helps foster care and adoption transitions
- The Tree of Life exercise can help with self-esteem building
- Grief, loss, and life transitions
- The Tree of Life exercise allows safe acknowledgment of loss without forcing emotional exposure.
- It is helpful for medical diagnoses, chronic illness, retirement, immigration, or role changes.
- Community healing and collective meaning-making
- Grouping trees and communal storytelling fosters solidarity, empowerment, and shared purpose.
- It is commonly used in humanitarian contexts.
- Clinical therapy integration
- The Tree of Life Therapy activity is rapport-building
- It can also be an early-phase narrative assessment
- The Tree of Life exercise is a values and strengths clarification tool
- It is also a grounding technique before deeper trauma work
- It can be a creative intervention during stalled therapy processes
In essence, the Tree of Life Therapy activity is used wherever a gentle, empowering, culturally adaptable method of exploring identity and resilience is needed.
The Tree of Life Exercise
The Tree of Life Therapy activity uses tree parts as metaphors. Facilitators guide participants in drawing or creating a tree, then in naming and exploring each part. Below is a typical structure and therapeutic purpose for each element.
- Preparation & safety
- Explain the purpose of the Tree of Life Exercise, gain consent, and set limits (this is strengths-mapping, not trauma processing). Emphasize that participants decide what to share.
- Materials: paper, markers, stickers; for groups, create a calm, private space.
- Roots — “Where you come from.”
- Prompt: “Who or what has fed you and shaped you?” (family, cultural roots, important places, traditions)
- Purpose: grounds identity, acknowledges history and cultural resources.
- Ground/Soil — “Current life & context.”
- Prompt: “What is happening in your life right now?” (school, community, challenges, daily routines)
- Purpose: locates the person in the present context without pathologizing.
- Trunk — “Skills, values, strengths.”
- Prompt: “What skills and values keep you standing? What helps you cope?”
- Purpose: externalizes and names capacities (problem-solving, humour, persistence).
- Branches — “Hopes and dreams.”
- Prompt: “What do you want to grow toward?” (goals, wishes, aspirations)
- Purpose: future-oriented, creates agency and possibility.
- Leaves — “People who support you.”
- Prompt: “Who are the people (or animals, places) you can rely on?”
- Purpose: maps social support and attachment figures.
- Fruits/Gifts — “Gifts you’ve received or can share.”
- Prompt: “What gifts or talents have you been given?” (skills, cultural knowledge, kindness)
- Purpose: reinforces strengths and what can be shared with others.
- Storms/Challenges (sometimes drawn as clouds, stones, or pests)
- Prompt: “What has made growing hard?” (loss, discrimination, illness)
- Purpose: acknowledges hardship in a contained way so it doesn’t dominate the whole story.
- Reflection and re-authoring
- I then elicit stories that explain each element, externalize problems (e.g., “the storm” rather than “you are broken”), explore unique outcomes (times when problems were resisted), and collaborate on meaning and next steps.
- Closing & Linking
- Together, we link strengths on the picture to practical steps (e.g., trunk skills that can be used to reach branch goals). Optionally create a shared group picture or take home a copy. For groups, include communal rituals that honour stories.
Therapeutic mechanisms: externalization, strengths amplification, meaning-making, social reconnection, cultural validation, and future orientation. The exercise is deliberately adaptable — it can be a single session, a brief series, or part of a more extended therapy plan.
Combining the Tree of Life Exercise with Other Methods
The Tree of Life exercise pairs well with several therapeutic approaches:
- Narrative therapy is rooted in narrative ideas—sometimes referred to as Tree of Life Narrative Therapy —and uses narrative questions to deepen re-authoring.
- Trauma-informed care: use it as a safe, low-arousal option before any trauma processing; it helps build resources first.
- Art therapy & creative therapies: the drawing and metaphorical work align naturally with art and music interventions.
- CBT/Skills training: after identifying trunk skills, you can teach specific behavioral or cognitive skills to strengthen those capacities.
- Family therapy/systemic work: create family trees or shared community trees to map relational strengths and obligations.
- Group psychosocial interventions: The Tree of Life Therapy activity is used in schools, camps, or humanitarian responses to build collective resilience.
Practical tips for clinicians/facilitators
- Respect cultural meanings — ask about tree symbolism in the person’s culture.
- Keep it strengths-first: only invite naming of storms if participant chooses; avoid intrusive probing.
- Use creative variations: collages, clay, artificial intelligence, and group mural.
- Use it as an entry point: follow up with targeted interventions (skills teaching, family work, trauma-informed processing) as needed.
Limitations & cautions
- The Tree of Life therapy activity is not a standalone trauma treatment for severe PTSD — it’s a resource-building, narrative exercise best used within a trauma-informed care plan.
- Therapists must avoid minimizing real harm; storm themes should be acknowledged and, if needed, referred for appropriate clinical care.
- Adapt language and delivery to developmental level, literacy, and cultural context.
Tree of Life Therapy Case Examples
The following case examples help illustrate how the Tree of Life activity is used in therapy.
1. Tree of Life Narrative Therapy with a Teen
Maya, grieving her mother’s death, avoided discussing emotions and experienced panic attacks. She felt fragile, ashamed of “breaking down,” and disconnected from her peers.
Tree of Life Narrative Therapy Work
- Establishing safety & consent
I emphasized that the Tree of Life exercise was not about “talking about the trauma” but about understanding who she is as a person. This reduced panic and defensiveness. - Roots exploration
I helped Maya identify small but meaningful memories—cooking with her mother, the smell of jasmine in their yard. These were framed as resources rather than triggers. I gently mirrored: “Your mother taught you care, and creativity, and those qualities are still alive in you.” This reframing allowed Maya to feel connected to her mother without overwhelming sadness. - Trunk strengthening
When Maya minimized her strengths (“I just doodle”), I used narrative practices:- Externalizing the self-critic (“That’s the Doubting Voice speaking”)
- Highlighting unique outcomes (“Tell me a time your art helped you calm down”)
- Thickening the story of values (“What does art allow you to express?”), Maya recognized her creativity as an active coping tool.
- Linking branches to real goals
I translated hopes (art classes, completing a memorial art project) into actionable steps:- A weekly art practice routine
- Enrolling in an after-school art program
- Creating a timeline for the memorial project
- Storms reframed
Panic was externalized as “the wave,” something that visits rather than defines her. She learned grounding skills using imagery from her picture (e.g., “feel your roots,” “focus on the solid trunk”).
Tree of Life Narrative Therapy Outcome
Within six weeks, panic attacks reduced, school attendance improved, and she displayed more emotional openness. Maya reported feeling “more like myself again” rather than “the girl whose mom died.”
2. Tree of Life Narrative Therapy with a Young Adult
Omar felt rootless, isolated, and ashamed that nightmares and memories intruded at night. He felt pressure to “be strong” and hide distress.
Tree of Life Narrative Therapy Activity
- Strengths-based cultural validation
To start Tree of Life Narrative Therapy, I highlighted the significance of his roots—language, cooking, and community traditions. This countered the dominant narrative: “I am a displaced person.”
He instead began to narrate: “I come from a culture of hospitality and resilience.” - Social scaffolding through group sharing
Sharing leaves (supportive people) helped him realize he was not alone. He heard others’ stories and felt a sense of belonging. Through Tree of Life Narrative Therapy, I offered metaphors of support (“your trunk is strong even in storms”), which strengthened communal identity. - Externalizing trauma symptoms
Nightmares were described metaphorically as “night storms,” visiting rather than defining him.
Questions included:- “When the storms visit, what helps your tree stay standing?”
- “Which strengths from your trunk help you face them?”
- This reduced shame and normalized his experience.
- Linking strengths to future plans
His identified talents—fixing radios, storytelling—were connected to local training opportunities.
He created a clear path:-
- Enroll in a technical workshop
- Volunteer once weekly, fixing donated electronics
- Attend a peer support group for connection
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- Tree of Life Narrative Therapy re-authoring
Rather than “I survived by accident,” the group explored narratives of intention, courage, and persistence during their migration. This thickened a preferred identity: “I am resourceful and committed.”
Outcome
Omar developed friendships, joined training programs, and reported fewer episodes of isolation. His sense of identity broadened beyond survivorhood into contribution and purpose.
3. Tree of Life Exercise with an Adult
Sheila’s chronic illness forced her early retirement from a career she loved. She felt useless, depressed, and disconnected from her sense of competence.
Tree of Life Exercise
- Honoring roots without idealizing the past
I helped Sheila revisit her history of leadership, community service, and creativity. The goal was to reclaim identity, not deny present limitations. - Slow, mindful trunk-building
Sheila initially dismissed her skills (“They don’t matter anymore”). I used micro-narratives:- Times when her organizational skills helped her manage medical appointments
- Moments when her listening skills supported friends
- She showed acts of quiet resilience daily
- Reclaiming agency through branches
We divided her goals (writing memoir pieces, starting a baking circle) into gentle, manageable steps:- Choosing one small baking project per week
- Writing for 5 minutes daily
- Asking neighbors if they’d join a monthly circle
- I emphasized that growth can be slow—trees grow incrementally.
- Mapping support and reducing isolation
Sheila realized she had more leaves (supportive people) than she recognized. She strengthened these connections, increasing resilience. - Naming storms and coping tools
We externalized shame, fatigue, and fear of judgment.
I helped her build a plan using metaphors:- “Roots” → grounding techniques
- “Trunk” → pacing strategies
- “Leaves” → asking for help
- “Branches” → future-oriented motivations
Tree of Life Exercise Outcome
Sheila regained a sense of purpose, experienced fewer depressive episodes, and successfully launched a monthly community baking group. She reported feeling “alive again,” with her identity now broader than her illness.
Conclusion and My Work
The Tree of Life is a gentle, empowering, narrative-based method that helps people reclaim identity, recognize strengths, and build resilience. It works across cultures, age groups, and therapeutic contexts by avoiding pathologizing individuals and instead amplifying the skills and supports that sustain them. When used skillfully, it provides both emotional safety and creative space for healing, identity reconstruction, and future-oriented hope.
If you have questions about Tree of Life Narrative Therapy or would like to learn more about how the Tree of Life Therapy activity might benefit you, don’t hesitate to contact me or schedule a consultation at any time.
