Research and evidence
3Trees is not a feel-good camp with a therapist on call. It's a clinical program designed from two decades of peer-reviewed research on childhood trauma, neurobiology, and what actually helps young people recover.
The evidence base
1
Childhood maltreatment is associated with structural and functional brain changes, particularly in systems that regulate stress, threat detection, and emotion. These changes increase vulnerability to PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
2
The type and timing of trauma shape clinical trajectories and brain aging. Early intervention, during windows of heightened neuroplasticity, leads to better outcomes than delayed treatment.
3
Youth with trauma histories often show reduced responsiveness to weekly therapy alone. They need tailored, multidisciplinary interventions that address mental health and build resilience at the same time.
4
Resilience factors, like supportive relationships and community belonging, buffer against future stress. But young people who have experienced trauma often have fewer of these protective factors.
5
During sensitive developmental periods, high-quality peer relationships, supportive caregiving, and emotion regulation scaffolding can become embedded in the brain's stress-regulatory systems. Connection is not a nice-to-have. It is the treatment.
Featured publication
In 2026, 3Trees co-founder Dr. Pia Pechtel published an editorial in Clinical Psychology in Europe outlining a Research-Principles-Action framework for childhood trauma. The 3Trees program applies this framework in practice.
Citation
Pechtel, P. (2026). The need for a translational model of childhood maltreatment: From research to principles to action. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 8(1), Article e22213.
Our research network
Research partnership with the UBC Okanagan campus for program evaluation and trauma research collaboration.
Dr. Pechtel holds an appointment at Exeter's Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research.
Dr. Pechtel also serves as Clinical Director at CYAC Kelowna, connecting 3Trees with broader multidisciplinary trauma care.
Your donation helps 3Trees turn decades of science into real help for real families.
