Trees as a Lesson in Healing Trauma

In the heart of the forest, trees stand in quiet beauty, their roots intertwined beneath the surface to form an intricate network of connection and support. This natural web serves as a powerful metaphor for how individuals can heal from trauma. Just as trees share nutrients and communication through their roots to foster collective well-being, we too can find strength and healing through interconnectedness and mutual support. As a therapist, the more I learn about the nature of trees, the more my compassion grows for all beings. I also find myself reconsidering healing, relationships and what it means to be well within the context of psychotherapy and our greater sociocultural climate. In this article, we will examine the intelligence of trees to deepen our understanding of current psychological research and theory on healing. First, we will explore the nature of trees, including the concept of the mother tree while drawing parallels to our human nervous systems. Next, we will examine how modern neuroscience is expanding our understanding of the mind and its similarities with dynamics of trees within forests. Finally, we will draw on the concept of trauma within the context of our larger systems and its application to healing work within psychotherapy.

 Indigenous wisdom, supported by scientific research, reveals that trees are part of a living web of rich interconnection with complex social relationships not unlike our own. In Suzanne Simard’s research as a forest ecologist, she argues that “we can think of the larger forest ecosystems as similar to human societies…they’re complex, self-organizing, and adaptive. And, importantly…they are intelligent.” They communicate through vast underground networks, learning and adapting their behaviours, and sharing resources and nutrients. They even recognize and care for their offspring. Simard’s research has popularized the concept of a “mother tree”. She says these trees are the largest trees in the forest and they act as a central hub of information flow within vast networks of underground mycorrhizal networks. These older, larger trees play a critical role in supporting and nurturing younger trees and the whole of the forest ecosystem. She notes that mother trees, who become ill or begin dying,  will pass along messages of wisdom to the younger trees of the forest. Trees are an interconnected, relational community that care for their vulnerable, support their young and pass down wisdom to the younger generations. I believe that the concept of mother trees is akin to Crystal Mccreary’s notion of default nervous systems. She describes a default nervous system as the nervous system that often takes the lead role in relationship to other nervous systems. This may include those who take on roles as a parent, a teacher, an employer and other various leadership and helper roles. For better or worse, these often become the “hubs” of information flow amongst other nervous systems just as a mother tree. This means that it may help to co-regulate other nervous systems (i.e. help to calm and soothe others) such as a mother rocking her baby. They may also potentially influence and dysregulate others (i.e. put others on edge or activate a stress response) depending on the state of their physiology. For example, a boss comes into work feeling dysregulated by anger and their employees pick up on it and start to feel stressed in their bodies. Default nervous systems, much like mother trees, are the hubs of energy flow that influence others, sending signals of safety or alerting to some kind of threat. 

Our nervous systems are in constant communication with one another and this is usually occurring outside of our conscious awareness. This communication occurs through neuroception, co-regulation and mirroring. Neuroception is our autonomic nervous system's way of scanning and processing information to determine if we are safe. This scanning happens on average four times a second and operates unconsciously, without involving the thinking parts of the brain. It assesses cues of safety or danger from our external environment, internal state, and interactions with other nervous systems. Co-regulation builds on this by responding to the cues of safety or danger we receive from others, whether they are people, animals, or even nature. When we perceive safety signals—like a soothing tone of voice, relaxed body language, or calm posture—it helps regulate our own nervous system, making us feel safe and relaxed. Conversely, if we detect signals of potential threat, we may feel on edge or hypervigilant, even without explicit evidence of danger. Mirroring involves mirror neurons in the brain that fire both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else performing the same action. This mirroring occurs with motor movements, physical pain, emotions, and more. For instance, we might wince when we see someone else in pain, as our mirror neurons activate similarly to how they would if we were experiencing the pain ourselves.

Climate activist Paul Hawken says in order  to heal a system, you need to connect more of it to itself. As a trauma therapist, I see this principle in trauma healing as well. Many trauma therapies focus on connecting you more deeply to yourself—your emotions, sensations, parts of your psyche, unconscious beliefs, and more—by leveraging the brain and nervous system's innate capacities for healing. Interestingly, the underground network of a tree's roots looks strikingly similar to the nerves of the human nervous system. Neuroscience is beginning to uncover parallels between forests and our minds. When Dr. Dan Siegel set out to define the mind, he brought together researchers and academics from fields including neuroscience, mathematics, physics, and anthropology. After extensive discussion, they concluded that the mind is “an emergent, self-organizing, embodied, and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information.” This definition indicates that the mind is not localized to the brain but encompasses the entire body. Moreover, the mind is relational in nature, extending beyond the individual to exist within a broader relational context. The mind is both within and between, interdependent and relational by nature. Ultimately, humans, like trees, are not isolated nervous systems but are more akin to an interconnected forest with complex communication happening underground (through neuroception, mirroring, and co-regulation) and information flowing across multiple generations. Instead of conceptualizing our nervous systems as individual leaves, we may expand upon that view to grasp the whole interplay of each leaf in the context of the entire tree and forest. In that sense, it is more accurate to understand ourselves as a collective of nervous systems, in a dynamic interplay of communication and interconnection, not unlike a forest.

Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned expert on trauma and childhood development, argues that much of our mental health crisis stems from trauma, which he describes as fundamentally rooted in disconnection. According to Dr. Maté, the pain of childhood trauma leads us to instinctively shut down and disconnect from ourselves as a means of protection. This "shutdown" mechanism of the nervous system is initially adaptive and helps us survive; however, it becomes problematic when it persists long-term. We then find ourselves disconnected not only from our internal ecosystem—our bodies, emotions, needs, and various aspects of our psyche—but also from our external ecosystems, including our interpersonal relationships, communities, and the natural world. Trauma is an injury to the nervous system, thus extending its impact into our interpersonal lives. Dr. Maté also contends that the sociocultural and systemic environments in the West are often toxic, perpetuating the disconnection inherent in trauma. To illustrate this, imagine fish swimming in an aquarium: the water, representing our overarching systems, shapes and impacts our daily lives, even if we don't always notice it. In the West, the systems that define our "tank"—hyperindividualism, white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism—encourage us to view ourselves as separate or disconnected. Ultimately, this fragmentation embodies the essence of trauma. This pervasive disconnection affects our greater ecosystem, communities, relationships, and even our own bodies and emotions. Although this impacts everyone “swimming in the tank”, marginalized people are disproportionately impacted. These systems perpetuate disconnection, leading us to swim against the current of our true nature as interconnected, interdependent beings within an interconnected and interdependent ecosystem.

Exploring the symbiotic relationships among trees offers profound lessons on resilience, recovery, and the importance of community in overcoming personal hardships. The lessons from the forest teach us that healing from trauma, like the survival of trees, is rooted in connection. Trees thrive by sharing resources and communicating through their root systems, and similarly, humans heal through relationships and mutual support. This highlights not only the importance of reconnecting with ourselves but also our environments; tuning into our bodies, emotions, and needs, and extending this awareness to our relationships and communities. Healing work that focuses solely on the individual is incomplete. Recognizing our true nature as interdependent beings is essential not only to our own well-being but to the greater collective nervous system. Just as trees rely on their network for survival, we too must seek healing within the context of our relationships. By fostering community and mutual support, we can create environments that promote healing and resilience.

Trees, no matter the conditions, instinctively grow towards the light, seeking nourishment and thriving despite obstacles. Similarly, humans have an innate drive to grow towards the light of psychological well-being, even in the face of trauma. I am always left in awe at the front row seat I have as a Therapist in witnessing humanity's inherent resilience and capacity for healing. Just as trees bend and stretch towards the sun, we too can find our way towards growth and recovery, harnessing inner strengths and resources to overcome adversity, with more strength and healing within our relationships and communities. 

References

Simard, S. (2021). Finding the mother tree: Discovering the wisdom of the forest. Knopf.

Hawken, P. (2007). Blessed unrest: How the largest social movement in history is restoring grace, justice, and beauty to the world. Viking.

Maté, G. (2003). When the body says no: The cost of hidden stress. Knopf.

Siegel, D. J. (2020). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.