Cobseo
The Confederation of British Service Charities brings together over 300 organisations supporting military personnel. This link takes you to a directory where you can view all their member organisations.
On this page
Changing Faces is the UK’s leading charity for everyone with a scar, mark or condition on their face or body. We do not specialise in providing support for veterans, like Cobseo and Combat Stress. However, we offer a range of services and support which may help ex-service personnel and military families dealing with issues and concerns surrounding appearance-altering injuries, including scars and limb differences (we call these “visible differences”).
We can also support you with other marks and conditions and we’re here to help whether your visible difference or disfigurement was sustained as a result of military combat, was present from birth or occurred at another point in your life. Although we don’t provide treatment for physical impairments, we’re able to support disabled veterans struggling to adjust to a change in appearance and we can also help you with the mental health challenges of a visible difference.
If you’ve served in the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force – or the armed forces of any other country and you live in the UK – we’re here for you.
It can be hard to take that first step and ask for help. All of our services are confidential and facilitated by trained staff and volunteers. Our services have been described as “life-changing” by people who have used them, with one client saying they now feel “confidence that I have not felt in years” and another saying they “do not know how we would have got through the tough times without [Changing Faces’] help and support”.
My counsellor listened to me with empathy and understanding. I felt able to talk about anything with her. I now feel so much more confident and stronger. This has been a life-changing experience and I feel so grateful to have received your support. Thank you.
On this page we provide more information about the services and support we can offer you as someone who has served in the armed forces.
About our support services
Counselling support
Our trained practitioners offer confidential, one-to-one social, emotional and psychological support sessions tailored to your specific needs. Your practitioner will listen and learn about your situation and help you explore and understand the mental health and practical challenges you may be facing.
Support & Information Line
If you’ve served in the armed forces and are struggling with the emotional and mental health impacts of a visible difference or disfigurement, our confidential Support and Information Line is here to help. Our support calls give you time to talk through feelings about your visible difference and the impact it has on your life. We can also talk about your needs and guide you towards other services which may be of benefit.
Other services
We offer a range of other services which you may benefit from, including:
- Skin Camouflage Service: Skin camouflage uses creams and powders to reduce the appearance of some marks, scars or skin conditions.
- Online Community: A chat forum where you can connect with other people living with a visible difference.
- Peer Group Chat Service: Facilitated peer support for people with a visible difference, held by video call (Zoom) or in our chatroom.
- Self-help resources: We have a host of self-help resources to help you cope with the day-to-day impacts of a visible difference, including work, relationships and social life, mental health and confidence.
- Condition-specific guidance: If you have burns or scars, you may find out dedicated pages useful. We look at the impacts burns and scars can have on your life, outline the support we can offer through our services and signpost specialist organisations who may be able to help.
You can read more about all of our services in our services and support section, or register your interest in a service via the form below.
Register interest in a service
If you need more information about the services and support we offer, feel free to call our Support and Information Line on 0300 012 0275. The line is open between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday. Our services are available to people within the UK.
You can register your interest for our services using the form below.
Advice, guidance and information
As well as our support services, our website contains plenty of self-help advice and guidance to help you manage life with a visible difference or disfigurement as well as information about different kinds of visible differences.
Self-help guides
Guidance on many aspects of social, professional and family life which can be affected by a visible difference. Topics include coping with others’ reactions, managing feelings of loss of identity, building confidence, and mental health and wellbeing.
Condition-specific information
Types of visible difference
This page provides basic information about a range of visible differences and disfigurements. You may find it useful if you are a veteran who has recently acquired a mark, scar or condition affecting your appearance, or if you are a friend or family-member of a veteran with a visible difference.
Condition-specific information
The pages in this section provide detailed information about particular types of conditions, including burns and scars. As well as listing factual information about the condition and ways it can be treated, each page outlines how our services and support may be of benefit.
Condition-specific organisations
This page lists organisations which provide specialist support to people with particular conditions, marks and scars. If you are a veteran or family-member looking for help or information relating to a specific type of visible difference or disfigurement, you will find links to a range of organisations providing more specialist support.
