Donna M Thomas holds a PhD in language and identity awarded from Lancaster University in 2013. Thomas was employed as a Strategic Research Manager in a local Government organisation for ten years, having significant responsibilities for research programmes that informed service development and policy. Thomas’s recent work has focused on investigating exceptional experiences and consciousness with children, establishing ICreateS research unit at the University of Lancashire, to legitimately explore near death experiences, consciousness and psi experiences with children and families. Donna was awarded the Perrott Warrick Senior Researcher Award in 2025 and has published two books on consciousness, self & subjectivity and unexplained experiences. In addition to books, Thomas has published peer reviewed articles, co-edited a special issue on consciousness and exceptional experiences, contributed book chapters and has written public interest pieces. Thomas has appeared on several podcast interviews, documentaries and her work on children’s near death experiences has been covered in magazines such as Popular Mechanics and Newlines Magazine. She is also invited to comment in the national media (The Daily Mail).

Articles

Thomas, D. (2022). A participatory research study to explore the healing potential of children’s anomalous experiences. Explore, 18(5), 551-558.

Thomas, D. (2022). Rethinking methodologies in parapsychology research with children. Journal of Anomalistics, 22(2), 400-426.

Thomas, D. (2022). Playing in the Field: Exploring the nature and emergence of extra sensory experiences with children. Journal of Parapsychology, 86(2).

Thomas, D. (2022). Postmaterial Participatory Research: Exploring the nature of self with children. International Journal of Transformative Research, 9(1), 6-17.

Thomas, D., & O’Connor, G. (2024). Exploring near death experiences with children post intensive care: A case series. Explore, 20(3), 443-449.

Thomas, D. M., & O’Riordan, Z. (2025). “My mind is not in my brain”: exploring consciousness with children using creative research methods. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 22(2), 346-377.

Thomas, D. M. (2025). Towards a natural semiotics for centralising ‘out of this world’ images in research with children. Qualitative Research, 25(1), 21-42.

Thomas, D. M., Rycroft, E., Allan, K., & Sharif, S. (2025). New methodological directions for involving children in past life memories research. EXPLORE, 103283.

Adams, K., Thomas, D., & Paige, R. (2026). Beyond belief: Advancing death education through children’s experiences of non-corporeal continuation. Death Studies, 50(6), 895-909.

Thomas, D. M., & O’Connor, G. (2026). Children’s near-death experiences: A narrative review and future directions for investigating near-death experiences with children. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Thomas, D. (2026). Tuning into the Frequencies: Interpreting children and young people’s abstract mark making through a semiotic orientation. Global Studies of Childhood.

Books

Thomas, D. M. (2023). Children’s Unexplained Experiences in a Post Materialist World: What Children Can Teach Us about the Mystery of Being Human. Collective Ink Publications

Thomas, D. M., & Durston, S. (2025). Self and subjectivity in social research. SAGE Publications Limited.