Dec 15, 2025 | written by: Tommaso Ciuffoletti
From a simple intuition in the 1930s to modern clinical practice, the Tree Drawing Test is one of the most fascinating projective techniques in psychology.
Born as a tool to observe personality through a very simple gesture - drawing a tree - it has evolved into a method used in educational, clinical and even forensic settings.
Here, we trace its history, how it works, and the elements that are analysed, all the way to the universal symbolism that has always linked human beings to trees.
And, of course, to how this connection can become real: by planting one.
A surprisingly serious test (behind a very simple gesture)
It’s hard to imagine that something as ordinary as drawing a tree could reveal aspects of our inner world. Yet that is precisely the intuition behind one of the longest-lasting projective tests in psychology: the Tree Drawing Test.
Today it is used by psychologists, psychotherapists and neuropsychiatrists to explore deep aspects of personality, in both children and adults. And despite its seemingly “light” appearance, it has nearly a century of research, revisions and rigorous clinical applications behind it.
The principle is simple: when we draw, we project — often unconsciously — the way we perceive ourselves and the world.
A tree, with its vertical structure, roots and canopy, is a perfect metaphor for the human being: roots (the past and emotional foundations), trunk (the self, stability, vital energy), branches and leaves (relationships, aspirations, openness to the outside world).
And this is where the magic begins.
From its origins to modern studies
The idea of exploring personality through drawing is not new. As early as the 1920s and 1930s, psychologists such as Goodenough and Machover were investigating how graphic expression could reveal cognitive and emotional traits.
The spark: Emile Jucker (1928)
The first to sense the potential of the tree drawing was Emile Jucker, a Swiss career counsellor who began systematically collecting tree drawings made by his patients. He noticed recurring patterns, peculiarities and graphic styles that seemed linked to personality traits. It was, at that stage, an intuition — still far from a structured method.
The scientific breakthrough: Karl Koch (from 1949 onwards)
Scientific recognition came thanks to Karl Koch, a Swiss psychologist who in 1949 published the first European manual entirely dedicated to the Tree Drawing Test.
Koch combined psychological insight, Jungian symbolism, systematic clinical observation and a method that analysed space, shapes, proportions, details and graphic traits.
The test was based on the principle of the graphic field: what we draw at the top, bottom, left or right of the page can reflect tendencies, emotional states, levels of energy, introversion or extroversion.
His work became the foundation for modern studies and led to the test being used not only in developmental psychology, but also in clinical and forensic contexts.
Contemporary developments
Subsequent research and studies published in international scientific literature have refined the test by updating its validity and reliability indices, administration methods, interpretative criteria and professional applications.
Today, the Tree Drawing Test is considered a serious projective tool, particularly useful when integrated with other diagnostic techniques.
How it works
There is no “right” way to draw a tree. But every way says something. Here are the main elements analysed during a psychodiagnostic evaluation.
Placement on the page — the premise of everything that follows
-
Left side: introverted tendencies, focus on the past, need for protection
-
Right side: extroversion, openness, search for relationships
-
Upper part: strong idealism, high aspirations
-
Lower part: concreteness, sometimes a feeling of being “weighed down”
The trunk — the trunk represents the “self”: stability, inner energy, structure
-
Wide, solid trunk: security, strength
-
Very thin trunk: emotional delicacy, sometimes vulnerability
-
Cracks, knots or breaks: inner wounds, tensions, difficult transitions
-
Very strong pressure: impulsivity or intense emotional charge
-
Light pressure: sensitivity, self-control, or insecurity
The canopy — the most “social” and creative part: thoughts, relationships, plans
-
Wide, harmonious canopy: balance, openness, imagination
-
Small or compressed canopy: shyness, caution, emotional restraint
-
Chaotic or very complex canopy: vivid imagination, sometimes dispersion
-
Very geometric canopy: control, rationality
The branches — the bridge between inner and outer worlds
-
Branches reaching upward: planning, trust, momentum
-
Branches pointing downward: introspection, fatigue or self-protection
-
Broken or interrupted branches: conflicts, blocks, relational fractures
-
Branches not connected to the trunk: fragmentation or dissociation between self and world
The roots — not everyone draws them, but when they appear, they speak
-
Solid roots: sense of belonging, stable identity
-
Intertwined roots: emotional depth, complexity
-
No roots: not necessarily negative; often a graphic habit, though in some cases it may suggest a fragile bond with the past or with one’s “ground”
Graphic style
-
Continuous line: determination, linear thinking
-
Fragmented or retraced line: uncertainty, perfectionism or anxiety
-
Many details: need for control or inner richness
-
Few details: essentiality, immediacy, sometimes defensiveness
A symbol that has always represented us
Jung described the tree as an archetype, a universal symbolic form that crosses cultures, eras and continents.
And it’s easy to see why: trees are vertical like us, they grow, take root, bloom, fall and rise again. They are our natural model of development, transformation and resilience.
In Nordic and many other mythologies, a tree holds up the sky; in fairy tales it offers shelter and nourishment; in spiritual traditions it connects earth and the divine. Ultimately, the tree we draw is often an unconscious self-portrait: it tells who we are today and how we are growing.
So what? Drawing a tree is just the beginning…
If a simple drawing can tell us so much about ourselves, a real tree can say even more.
Because it’s not just a symbol: it’s life, oxygen, shade, biodiversity, future.
And in the real world — not in a test — planting one is a concrete gesture towards both our inner world and the world around us.
A tree grows, breathes, transforms.
And it grows thanks to those who choose it.
