Why Trees?

You may notice that our logo and website feature trees prominently. We believe that judgment about oneself, our thoughts, and our behaviors can lead to shame and guilt. Shame and guilt in turn compounds negative emotions and keeps people stuck in ineffective cycles and away from the lives they want to build. To combat this, we believe in the importance of first engaging in acceptance of oneself. Through accepting oneself, a person is able to understand why they are engaging in ineffective behaviors and learn other, more value-congruent ways of interacting in the world.

This quote by Ram Dass embodies Virginia Behavioral Health's treatment philosophy:

“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.

The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”