Refer a patient to our wellbeing services

We offer a range of wellbeing services you can refer a patient or client to as a health and social care professional, charity worker, counsellor, educator or other professional.

On this page, we outline the services available to your service-users and explain how you can make a referral on their behalf.

What wellbeing services do you provide?

We are focused on primary-level psychosocial services for mild to moderate mental health difficulties as a result of the impact of having a visible difference.

The range of services on offer are:

• Support and Information Line for people to share feelings and talk through their situation in a friendly, confidential space and to explore which of our wellbeing services may be the most helpful for your patients and clients to engage with. The Support and Information Line is where professionals can discuss potential referrals and also serves as the gateway to the following services when people self-refer.
• Social and emotional support sessions for children and young people to talk through worries and concerns, see things from a different perspective and cope better with difficult feelings.
• Counselling for adults, children and young people offering time-limited support, focused primarily on the emotional and social effects of a visible difference on a person’s life and how this affects their mental health, wellbeing, social and public life.
• Peer Group Chat Service offering the opportunity for people with visible difference to connect online in eight weekly sessions, to share and support each other with the experiences and challenges of living with a visible difference.
• Workshops for children, young people and parents to discover valuable tips and techniques which help with issues such as teasing, bullying, social anxiety, social isolation.

You may also like to share information about these direct access services with your patient or client:

• Online Community where people can connect with others living with a visible difference, giving and receiving support through sharing experiences.
• Self-help guides to help people manage the challenges of living with a visible difference.

Who are your wellbeing services for?

We support anyone who is experiencing appearance-related distress due to a condition, mark or scar affecting the appearance of their body or face.

The size, severity or visibility of the visible difference is not important, as we know that it is not necessarily an indicator of the distress someone may feel. We focus on the impact it has on the person’s life.

However, please note that we are not able to support people whose primary issues circle around severe or enduring mental health issues, those in crisis or those with a current high risk of self-harm or suicidal behaviours.

We do not have the expertise to offer ongoing support to people with a body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) which requires specialist psychological support.

Do you charge for your services?

We do not charge clients, professionals or organisations for any of our wellbeing services.

However, Changing Faces is a charity. We rely on donations to provide our services. If you are able to make a donation or fundraise for us, we would be very grateful.

How are your practitioners qualified?

All Changing Faces wellbeing practitioners are:

• Professionals from a variety of relevant backgrounds such as counselling, psychology, nursing, helpline and social work.
• Trained to understand the social, emotional and psychological distress arising from appearance-related concerns and living with a visible difference.
• Able to engage empathically and compassionately with clients to understand their experiences and use goal-setting formulation and/or assessment to determine the best support we can offer to meet their needs. This includes ability to identify and manage risk and safeguarding concerns.
• Able to apply knowledge, skills and expertise relevant to appearance-related distress, building self-efficacy and resilience in practice, through the delivery of service offers.
• Engaged in regular reflective supervision and continuous professional development.

How can I refer a patient or client?

You can refer a patient or client to our wellbeing services by completing the webform below, calling the Support and Information line on 0300 012 0275 or emailing  [email protected]

Have a visible difference and need to access support?

This page is for professionals – if you have a visible difference, you can self-refer to our services via our Support and Information Line.

How to self-refer