The documentary film UPROOTING ADDICTION depicts the interwoven stories of six people from Northwest Connecticut, all affected by early trauma and subsequently, addiction. They come together for an innovative retreat led by drug and alcohol counselor Hope Payson.

Using metaphor as methodology, Hope offers them the image of a tree. In articulating their trauma as the root, they then work to move up the tree imagery to the branches and leaves, to identify where and how these traumas have manifested in life. 

Interspersed with the character portraits in the film is commentary on the national conversation linking trauma and addiction, and experts discussing cutting edge therapies being used to treat both.

The film explores how a healthy community relies on the multifaceted participation of people working across the sectors - from the medical field, to social work and activism, to law enforcement.   According to the filmmakers, "We aim for audiences to emerge feeling enlightened by the science linking trauma and addiction, and by the intersectional approach to healing individuals and communities."