Integrating Evolved Nest Science Into Systemic Family Therapy: Tracey Johnston and Peter Robinson
By Peter Robinson, Psychotherapist
My name is Peter Robinson. I’m a Psychotherapist at Possibilities Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland (see: www.aberdeentherapy.com). I’m of Celtic ancestry from Scotland, in the United Kingdom (UK).
It seems like I’ve always been a kind of Nature Activist. For example, as a very young man, I very pretentiously created a public Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland called, ‘How to Save the World’. Remarkably, the late and great Jane Goodall, Primatologist and Conservationist, agreed to be one of the keynote speakers! Of course, she was fantastic and an amazing human being. In my view, she remains a wonderful example for us all to follow.
Regarding my field of expertise, I’ve worked in independent practice as a Psychotherapist for the last 13 years. I offer various kinds of Psychotherapy to individual adults and to couples. I’m also a Psychotherapy Supervisor.
Previously, I worked as a Psychotherapist in the National Health Service (NHS) for over 20 years. During this time, for over 12 years, I taught Psychotherapy to trainee Psychiatrists on placement in my NHS Mental Health Service, and to Clinical Psychologist trainees, both via the University of Edinburgh.
In the distant past, I’ve developed and run parenting programmes in mental health settings. I’ve also been involved in offering multi-family therapy groups for people with mental health problems, where the family members are experts for each other. I now realise that this was a very powerful ‘nesting’ process for the families and patients.
Given the Dominant Worldview’s exploitative, parasitic and destructive impact on the planet and all living beings, I consider that moving toward decolonising and indigenising psychotherapy is an essential ethical imperative. Therefore, I was very excited to come across the Kinship Indigenous Worldview and the Evolved Nest and to complete the Evolved Nest Ambassadors Programme as a Beta Tester in September 2025.
In terms of my project, which is shared with my colleague, Tracey Johnston, we are targeting various layers of the community of Systemic Psychotherapists and Family Therapists in the UK and around the world, from trainees through to qualified practitioners, via writing, discussion, training and presenting on the relevance of the Nested World and how it enhances Systemic Psychotherapy and, more importantly, enhances the lives of our clients. We will also be targeting other psychotherapy approaches.
We are guest editors of a Special Edition of the ‘Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy’ (June 2026), which focuses on ‘Kinship Indigenous Worldview and Oral Traditions informed Systemic Therapy Practices’. The Evolved Nest is integral to this edition, and we’re very honoured that Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows have contributed separate papers.
As part of our shared Evolved Nest Ambassadors project, Tracey and I presented on the ‘Evolved Nest in Systemic Family Therapy’ at the Family Therapy World Congress in Bergen, Norway, in March 2026.
We plan to further incorporate the Evolved Nest into our clinical psychotherapy and to write about our experience of this and the lived experiences of the people who consult with us.
Overall, I’m very inspired and excited about ongoing involvement with the Evolved Nest and Nested World and like-minded colleagues around the World.
About Tracey Johnston
My name is Tracey Johnston, and I am from Scotland. I am of Celtic origin, and I have always lived within my homeland. I grew up in a small village in the central belt of Scotland, surrounded by fields and hills. I now live in a city, close to the city centre but next to a large park. I feel very privileged to be surrounded by nature. Growing up, I had my own patch in the garden and greenhouse, and I felt very rooted in nature. For a while, I felt separate from nature when I went to university and started living in a big city. However, through having children, I reconnected as I watched my children be in awe of nature around them. I have three children who have retaught me the wonder of nature through children’s eyes. I am very grateful for that.
I am involved as a guest editor in a special edition for a family therapy journal, ANZJFT, on ‘Kinship Indigenous worldview and Oral Traditions informed Systemic Practice’. Through reading the indigenous Worldview by Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows, I became more aware of Darcia’s work on The Evolved Nest. This work made so much sense to me, and it fitted so much with my worldview and what I aspire to do in my day-to-day life, both personally and professionally.
My professional background started in Social work and has then continued to Systemic Psychotherapy. In the past, I worked with children who had not had the most nurturing start in life. Much of my work was in child protection and also offering parenting programmes to educate and support families in looking after their children.
I now work in independent practice, and I work with individuals, children, parents, couples, and families.
Going forward, I am interested in spreading the word about the importance of the Evolved Nest within my professional context in Systemic Psychotherapy. Therefore, my special project is to target layers of the system in the Systemic Psychotherapy world, through podcasts, writing and presentations on the relevance of the Nested World to enhancing Systemic Psychotherapy practice. My colleague and I are presenting on the Indigenous Worldview and Evolved Nest at the Family Therapy World Congress in Bergen, and we have a number of plans to write further within our professional context.