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Harris, Emily (2025) Exploring the Experiences of Young People Described as Having Special Educational Needs Engaging in the Tree of Life: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. DAppEdPsy thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

There is widespread concern for the wellbeing of children and young people (CYP) described as having special educational needs (SEN). This group experience a significant disparity in wellbeing outcomes, attributable to a range of social and emotional influences. There is a need for schools and educational psychologists (EPs) to promote the wellbeing of this group beyond clinical treatment, using proactive therapeutic approaches. One such approach is the Tree of Life, which encourages participants to collectively reauthor their life stories to illuminate preferred narratives of strength and richness. A systematic literature review explored participants’ experiences of the Tree of Life in existing papers and found it to be a positive and psychologically supportive experience. However, there is limited research which explores the experience of the Tree of Life for CYP described as having SEN. The current research aims to address this gap.

The Tree of Life was conducted with a group of 13–14-year-old young people (YP) described as having SEN in a mainstream secondary school. Four participants shared their experiences of engaging in the Tree of Life in semi-structured interviews, and their accounts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This resulted in the interpretation of Personal Experiential Themes (PETs) for each participant and six Group Experiential Themes (GETs) to represent the converging and diverging experiences of participants. These were: Nurturing Positive Emotional States, Navigating Discomfort, Fostering Connection and Togetherness, Expanding Thinking and New Insights, Exploring and Connecting with Identity, and A Space for Self-Expression. These findings offer novel insights into the experiences of YP described as having SEN and highlight variations in how participants experience the Tree of Life depending on their unique positionality. Implications for schools, EPs, and Tree of Life facilitators are discussed, and recommendations for future research utilising the Tree of Life are outlined.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (DAppEdPsy)
Supervisors:	Francis, Yvonne
Keywords:	young people with special educational needs, SEN, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1050 Educational psychology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary education. High schools L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC1390 Education of special classes of persons
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Science > School of Psychology
Item ID:	81839
Depositing User:	Harris, Emily
Date Deposited:	12 Dec 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/81839

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