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.
Our tripartite program is grounded in neuroscientific and psychological research showing that three key mechanisms, namely emotion reactivity, emotional regulation, and reward processing, are thought to be affected by trauma and to play a key role in why high-risk behaviours are described as helpful.
Equally, research suggests that boosting these three mechanisms through social connectedness can promote resilience to future stressors and thus provide young people with alternatives to high-risk behaviours.
We have an active research team revising and evaluating the effectiveness of our program. Publishing our results in peer-reviewed journals will help to disseminate knowledge and provide accountability.
To be part of this, young people and families will be invited to complete standardized measures at various points throughout the program to track their own progress and to help us understand which parts of the program work best for them.
We believe that young people are the true experts.
Since 2018, we have relied on an "expert panel" of young people with various backgrounds and lived experience to help us design our program.
As collaborators, young people have guided the early neurobiological research underlying the current 3Trees program, design practical day-to-day schedules and help navigate difficult questions (i.e., use of mobile phones? searching bags on arrival? smoking/vaping allowed?).
We are grateful for the young people's guidance and expertise… and for calling us out when we divert from what is important. They are our most honest critics and most valued collaborators.
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.
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