Making Sense of Relationships through Story Writing
Sienna (name changed), a Year 6 pupil in a mainstream primary school, was working within age-related expectations and engaged well with most aspects of learning. She was, however, perceived as being ‘unmotivated’ by her teachers when asked to complete extended writing tasks, appearing disengaged or distracted.
In school, Sienna had established friendships with her peers although they did experience friendship difficulties, struggling to manage the nuanced complexities of social interactions. Sienna and her peers continued to require adult support to negotiate and repair their relationships.
Sienna’s parents had separated a few years earlier and her mother now had another child with a new partner. Sienna’s older brother had chosen to live with their father, whereas Sienna continued to live across both households.
Whilst Sienna was not on the school’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) register, concerns were raised around her difficulty with peer relationships. They wondered if her lack of permanence between where her parents and siblings resided might contribute to her difficulties. School thought that she would benefit from accessing additional support to understand and process her emotions. Therapeutic Storywriting groups began in the autumn term and Sienna attended with 3 other pupils. The group was facilitated by an Educational Psychologist alongside the school’s Nurture Lead.
Over the course of the sessions, Sienna wrote several stories that often suggested the characters experienced challenge within their relationships:
‘Sam was afraid because she thought they will never come out of hospital…’
‘She felt alone because she had no friends and it was only her and her mother… Harriet felt left out because she didn’t feel pretty enough.’
‘She felt afraid because her favourite person wasn’t there when Sam needed her.’
‘Felix felt angry because his mum was sick.’
Themes relating to experiences of anxiety or a heightened/dysregulated emotional state was also prevalent throughout Sienna’s stories, presented in a way that suggested further concerns with coping or resolving difficult emotions. Across her stories, Sienna wrote:
‘Sam started crying because she didn’t know what to do. She had headaches, stomach aches, so every day when she went to school, every time someone said something, she said “I don’t know right now, give me some space”.’
‘Willow’s body froze on the spot. Her winning turned to worried. She ran. She ran as fast as she could until she found a place to hide. She stayed there alone, hoping nobody would find her… Willow was going through a really rough time.’
‘Dino was winning, but he still felt sad…’
In one story about Sam the snail, Sienna described Sam asking her mother to attend a school parents evening:
‘Sam found out the next day she had parents evening. So, she went home and she cried her eyes out. Her mum comes home and Sam tell her with tears in her eyes. She said “I can’t, I’m taking Lily to her doctors’ appointment. I’ll get a call from the teacher.” They have a chat and Sam says, “please make an effort with me, please”.’
After reading her story aloud, the group facilitator reflected, ‘I imagine that what has happened would make Sam feel left out.’
With tears in her eyes, Sienna showed the adult her feelings word from mindfulness tuning that she had not previously shared, which read ‘left out’. The group facilitator said, ‘what would help Sam to not feel so left out?’
Sienna replied, ‘I think it would help Sam if adults just asked her more if she was okay and listened to what was going on.’
The animal characters in Sienna’s stories were often portrayed as living in a human world. This removed a layer of the story metaphor, in which Sienna’s fantasy and external realities could coincide more freely. On occasions, she would mention to adults away from the group that she could write about what was happening to her. Sienna’s stories were reflective of school’s understanding of her real-life experiences. School recognised that Sienna valued the safe, nurturing and protected space to process her experiences.
Despite carefully implementing a structure that ensured the group were aware of when Therapeutic Story Writing was due to end, Sienna became tearful and visibly upset at the mention of the group ending. As the move to secondary school was beginning to become a priority for Sienna and her Year 6 cohort, school were able to draw parallels between the group ending and Sienna’s upcoming transition. It was recognised that she would likely need additional nurture-based support to process her feelings and manage change, which should continue as she moved across to her new school. This support, moving forwards, was considered vital in supporting Sienna and providing her with emotional security.
The development of friendship amongst Sienna and her peers within the group was evident over time. They engaged positively with mindfulness tuning and began to reflect thoughtfully on one another’s stories. Sienna would increasingly comment on how situations would make a character feel when she heard her peers’ stories. The group evolved into a safe space to share ‘without feeling worried that people might judge you’ (taken from Sienna’s post-evaluation questionnaire). During the post-evaluation session, Sienna excitedly shared that the group were having a sleepover the following weekend, evidencing the sustained impact of their time together.
School noted further improvements, highlighting how Therapeutic Storywriting enabled the ‘fostering of lovely relationships’.
Although pre- and post-evaluation questionnaires indicated that Sienna did not feel attending groups had much improved her writing, she did express a newfound joy of writing stories, appreciating the ‘relief’ it provided her with when she was able to ‘get out of the loud, annoying spaces’. She likened writing stories to communicating via text, which she felt was easier and more comfortable for her to do. After the Therapeutic Storywriting group ended, Sienna was keen to share in her post-evaluation interview that she had continued to add stories to her book and said she felt proud of her achievements.
N.B. Name changed for confidentiality and permissions granted from parents and school for sharing of this case study
Author: Dr Cheryl Forsyth, Kirklees Educational Psychologist, February 2024