Each year in the UK alone, 20,000 children and adults acquire a severe disfigurement. More than 400,000 people are now living with a disfigurement to their face, hands or body. Discrimination can leave a child or an adult feeling worthless, depressed and nervous about going out.

In the past year over 1,000 new young people, adults and families contacted Changing Faces to seek advice, information and support on living successfully with a disfigurement.

All our services are offered free of charge to our clients except for our workshops and activity when a small booking fee sometimes applies.

Changing Faces relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to enable our team of counsellors, psychologists, school specialists, young people's specialists and play therapists to continue supporting and equipping people with the skills to handle everyday situations and develop their self-confidence and self-esteem.

With your support, this is how we can help if someone gets in touch:

“I’m worried about how my child will fare when he changes schools next year.”

“Moving to new school is challenging for any child and especially so if he has a birthmark like yours. It’ll be important that you prepare yourself, your child and the school too. Many parents are worried that their child will be bullied – this is not necessarily to case.

We can work with you before and after term starts to help you equip your child with strategies to handle staring or comments and explanations about his appearance so that he can come across in a confident way and make friends. We can also help you connect with the school and prepare the teachers too. You may also like to download our guides for teachers and parents to help you prepare.

Each 50 minute one-to-one sessions, either on the phone, e-mail or face-to-face with our Child or School Specialist costs £70.

“My teenage son is being left out by his peers because of the way he looks.”

“There are some big challenges for an adolescent who looks ‘different’ and if your son visits www.iface.org.uk, our website for young people, he can find out what young people with disfigurements are saying and how they support each other.

You could set up a number of phonecalls with our Young People's Specialist to talk through what's been happening. Your son can also talk or email the Young Person's Specialist or come to one of our events or activity days where he can meet other young people going through similar difficulties and learn what to do about them.

We can also send your son some of our booklets written specifically for young people – which give lots of ideas and strategies for him to use and we've just brought out a new guide for parents wanting to know how to support their teenager. "

www.iface.org.uk costs £50 per day to maintain and £50 per day for our staff and Young People’s Council volunteers to moderate.

At the moment we do not have grants for the salaries of many of our Specialists so it costs £8,000 to run an activity day for 12 young people which including staff time, preparation, the invitation and assessment of participants, venue and refreshment costs, travel and subsequent follow-up.

“I don’t like the look of myself in the mirror now – I can't bear my scars.”

“There is no question that having scars or another disfigurement like an asymmetry, skin condition, paralysis or skin graft, can make a face look ‘different’ and you may not like what you see especially if your looks have been very important to you.

By talking through your feelings and beliefs about your appearance with one of our counsellors you could change the way you face your disfigurement – and how others face it too. Research shows that the way you behave and present yourself (body language, attitude, etc) has a greater impact on other people than your appearance in itself. So even though you may not be satisfied with your appearance, you can learn ways of being and communicating that can influence the way others respond to you.

Everyone is different. In consultation with an Adult Specialist you might decide on a short course of counselling - ideally one or two face-to-face but also by phone.”

A counselling contract of 10 sessions with one of our Adult Specialists costs £700 per client.

“I can’t get a good job or have a relationship because I’m too ugly.”

“Getting satisfying work and starting or sustaining an intimate relationship are two of the greatest challenges facing someone with a disfigurement. There are no magic tricks but we know that people can transform how they think about their prospects and make huge strides towards realising their ambitions and dreams.

We’d recommend that you have some one-to-one sessions with one of our Adult Specialists and perhaps come to a workshop and meet others who are going through similar issues. There are two which would be particularly relevant – ‘Reach Out with Assertiveness’ and ‘Intimacy and Relationships’. We can also help you to review how you apply for jobs and do interviews – crucial to realising your potential.”

Our one-day workshops for about 6-10 people cost up to £600 each to put on, about £60 for each participant.

We can't do it without your support. Please give what you can:

Online: Please click on the Donate Now button on any page of this website to make a secure online donation.

By phone: You can make a donation by calling 0845 4500 275. Please have your credit / debit card ready.

By fax: download and print off this donation form and fax it to Changing Faces on 0845 4500 276.

By post: Cheques should be made payable to 'Changing Faces' and can be posted to Changing Faces, The Squire Centre, 33-37 University Street, London, WC1E 6JN. Please do not send cash through the post.

Please remember Gift Aid

Changing Faces can reclaim tax on every donation made by a UK tax payer. This means that each pound you give could be worth an extra 28 pence.

To enable us to claim tax on your donation please complete this Gift Aid declaration form and send it to us with your donation.

Regular Giving

Giving regularly through a standing order makes a huge difference to Changing Faces' cashflow enabling us to plan our services and support in the future. Standing orders can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually for any amount. If you'd like to set up a standing order please click here .