All participants will be given a piece of paper and coloured pens and will be invited to draw a tree. The different parts of the tree would represent something about their lives as described above. After completing their drawings, the participants will be asked to pair up and describe their trees to each other. Having offered an opportunity for everyone to tell the story of their tree, participants will be asked to stand up and tell the story of their Tree to the whole group.

Finally, the participants will be given time to reflect on their experience of telling their “Tree of Life” story to another person. The aim of this part will be to build and acknowledge “a second story” about each person’s life; this second story consisted of the skills, abilities, hopes and dreams of each person and their histories

(Ncube, 2006).

During the second part, participants will be invited to stick their tree on the wall so as to

create a forest of beautiful trees: the “Forest of Life”! Participants will then be asked to

write words of encouragement, support and appreciation on each other’s trees as they hang on the wall. This part will end with all participants going back to their own tree and reading other people’s responses to their stories.



Participants will then be given some time to reflect on their experience of having their

stories of life acknowledged and honoured by others.

PART 3: The Storms of Life

Having created a different place for participants to stand, a place of strength, ability and hope, the participants will then be invite to talk about some of the difficulties and challenges they may be experiencing in life.

Using the tree metaphor again, the participants will be asked the following question: “As beautiful as trees and forests might be, are they free from dangers and hazards?”

The participants will then be invited to think of the hazards of their lives, to acknowledge

how these hazards affect them and how they have been able to respond to them so far. People will be able to brainstorm numerous ways of successfully responding to these challenges, which will be documented for them.

The aim of this is to talk about difficulties in ways that are not re-traumatising. What is

unique about this way of talking about “Storms of Life” is that it is a collective experience that makes it easier for people to talk freely about negative stories by creating a sense of distance between the person’s experience and the problem. Simultaneously, it unpacks people’s knowledge & abilities about how they have already responded and treats people as experts in their own life, not as victims of life. It offers participants a sense of hope.

PART 4: Certificates and Songs

All new learning calls for a celebration! And what better way to end a workshop than by a ceremony, awarding certificates! The facilitator gives out blank copies of certificates and invites each participant to fill it in for the person who described their Tree of Life to them. The certificate will focused on:

1. Their skills and abilities
2. Their hopes and dreams for the future
3. Special people they want to appreciate in life

There is then an ending ceremony where all participants are presented with their

certificates and given an opportunity to feedback on how they have found the group.

All participants will be asked to fill out pre and post feedback forms during the first and last session of the workshop and all of their feedback will be collated into a written report to see whether their objectives set out have been met and some qualitative feedback from their written or verbal feedback responses.