The Manhood Tree: Introduction and Purpose

The Manhood Tree group is an exploration of the lifecycle of a man, starting with discussing his Roots, then continuing through Boyhood, Teen and Young Adulthood, Relationships Brotherhood, Fatherhood, and, finally, Manhood, using the analogy of a tree. The goal of the Manhood Tree group is to allow men to discuss and address each phase of life and how it impacts the man they are today or will be in the future. Men and boys have been socialized against speaking openly about their true selves, their issues, problems, and concerns and the ideas, thoughts, and feelings they have. When a group of men is in a room together, the discussion usually remains at the surface, focusing on sports or debates, or switches to lower-level thinking regarding women. The Manhood Tree group is an opportunity for men to express their thoughts and seriously reflect on their choices, relationship ideas, and personal boyhood-to-manhood journey while learning from other men’s experiences.

The Manhood Tree group is a facilitated, nine week group process that includes a weekly individual check-in with each participant. Through The Manhood Tree groups, the goal is to help men look at their lives—where they have been, where they want to go—and determine the changes they will make to improve and encourage growth in the future. The Manhood Tree groups seek to get men to think about their lives fully, from boyhood up; identify their needs and wants; recognize and address areas of their life in which they are deficient and need support; and celebrate their growth.

The Manhood Tree groups provide men with a platform to view the “six hoods” Neighborhood, Boyhood, Young Adulthood, Brotherhood, Fatherhood and Manhood and from a bird’s-eye view. In the best-case scenario, the groups will comprise a range of men of different ages and life stages. The benefit of having a group with men of different stations in life allows younger and older men to learn from each other, support one another, and share the differences and similarities in their manhood experiences.

The purpose of The Manhood Tree group is to provide men with a supported reflection of their past and a preview of their future. Through the group process, men are allowed the time to stop and think about their lives rather than operating on autopilot. The goal is for men to fill in the gaps of their history, realize the areas of their lives they needed or wanted more, reflect on their relationships, open up lines of communication with family and friends, and commit to being better men once they have assessed their lives and decided to implement the changes that will help them be the man they desire going forward.