Have you ever asked your students to draw a tree and tell a story about it? Or perhaps used a tree outline as a mind map, for example (a trunk of ideas, branches as bigger areas, leaves as examples, fruits as results, etc.)? Or perhaps as a metaphor or analogy for power, resilience, protection, kindness, learning, life, and many more?
Even before I got into Art Therapy, I had my favourite activities that worked great in many different contexts. The Confidence Tree Activity is one of the ‘all-timers’ for me, and while I am not teaching or training at the moment, I use it from time to time.
In my post yesterday I mentioned that I learned it from the book, but I checked today and it was not from there. I can’t name the author, but I remember observing a training session in Daegu, Korea. My co-trainer was Wilma, and this photo in our earlier post is a proof 🙂
These are the stages of this activity as my memory holds it. I hope my readers can correct inaccuracies and add extra ideas in the comments!
1. Introduction/Lead-in. People sometimes plant trees when there is an important event or change happening in their lives. Some examples can be getting married, having baby in the family, losing a family member, and other situations. Sometimes there are smaller changes, such as a new job, a challenging project, or learning a new skill. These events may shake our confidence, and we may need support. The support can come from others, and it can also come from within.
2. Example. We can grow a tree of self-support and reflection, our own Confidence Tree that would help us stay strong and resilient in the face of a challenge. Let me give you an example. At this stage, the facilitator is drawing own Tree and explaining each step with their own situation and context. Choose something relevant, e.g., if it is a training course for teachers learning to work with kids, you can recall how you prepared for the first lesson, or if you are working with new managers, look back at the very first team you were leading, etc. Start drawing from the bottom and ‘grow’ the tree upwards. If this is done online, prepare a slide with a tree and go through the parts, from bottom to top.
My example can be taken from the post I shared yesterday: preparing to step into a new role of an art-therapist.
The roots will be the core values or beliefs that won’t change over time (or at least the ones you see as more fundamental in your life). Mine were described in this old post, and having skimmed through it now, I still agree with the ideas there.
The trunk will be the Whole You as a human-being. To represent this, you can write your name in it.
The big branches will show the experiences, or competency areas you have had in your career so far. Such examples can be teaching, training, writing, and they can also be additional skills you have. Your choice would much depend on the topic for the session, and the needs of the audience.
The leaves can show some concrete places where your experience took place, OR the challenges you overcome in this or that area. Alternatively, you can draw smaller branches for the places and then leaves for the experiences that helped you grow in each area.
3. Participants or students work on their trees individually.
Be mindful of time: the more detailed you example is, the more questions participants could have about it (right, you wanted them to be curious!), and the more detailed their products will become. Depending on the time on your hands, and the engagement level, this session can turn into two.
If someone in your audience says they can’t draw, or don’t feel comfortable doing it, suggest an easier version by drawing a hand and arm outline and using it as a tree template.
4. (Optional Stage) Working in pairs, describing own trees, listening to the partner. Comparing the trees, sharing the most significant challenge faced and overcome. Possibly, offering ideas on what else can be added into the ‘possible experiences’, learning from each other. If this is done online, think of Breakout Room time in 2s or 4s, depending on the class size.
5. Wrapping up: What has your tree taught you? How can your tree help you in the new stage of your life/new project, etc.? Can it grow further? What else would you like to share?
As a visual follow up, if your are teaching in a physical classroom, you can ask students to place their tree on the wall or on the board, for a class picture. If the lesson or session is taught online, you can either ask them to hold the poster with a tree in front of the cameras for a class picture, or ask to add the picture to the profile photo and do the same.
What else can you use the Tree Metaphor for? I can think of Gratitude Trees, Resource Trees, Achievement Trees, and many more. As you can ‘grow’ your trees, you can grow the ‘class garden’ or ‘school forest’, etc. The examples I am sharing are from my art-therapy sessions as a client, all produced earlier this year.
What would grow out of your heart if it was a seed? What would you like to plant there? I can’t remember where I heard these questions but I find them inspiring and interesting to think about. It may be a new lesson topic, or a journal entry at this time of the year, when we observe the end of a calendar year and plan something new.
P.S. You have probably heard about The House-Person-Tree Personality Test (initially created in 1949). If you have done it before, how can you use it in a lesson? If you have not, draw a tree of your own on an A-4 or A-3 piece of paper, and check the part about Tree in the article below.
Practical Psychology. (2020, April). The House-Person-Tree Personality Test. Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/house-person-tree-test/.
Wednesday Seminars 