Grauer Psychology Class Final Projects: Narrative Trees

From Dr. Tricia Valeski, Psychology Teacher:

Narrative psychology examines the value of stories and storytelling in giving meaning to people’s experiences. Our past memories, present experiences, and projections for the future all contribute to how we define and shape our selves. In Psychology class, students’ final projects involve making a narrative tree, or a “tree of life”. The tree can be 2- or 3-dimensional, and students can choose to construct their tree in whatever way inspires them. The tree has the following components: Roots (where you come from); Ground (your daily/weekly activities); Trunk (values and skills); Branches (hopes and goals); Leaves (significant people in your life); Fruits (legacies that have been passed down to you); Flowers and Seeds (legacies you want to leave behind); and Compost (things you used to identify with but want to leave behind, optional). Using the tree as a guide, students then write a narrative story about their lives. The purpose of this story is to raise students’ awareness of what they tell themselves about who they are. In so doing, students can make conscious choices about the elements of their stories that they want to continue to include and develop, as well as those they might want to let go of.

“In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning. This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it, can both reflect and shape who she is. A life story doesn’t just say what happened, it says why it was important, what it means for who the person is, for who they’ll become, and for what happens next.” (Life’s Stories, Julie Beck, The Atlantic)