10 September 2021
Online self-help tool available for young people with a visible difference
YP Face IT is a free online self-help tool for young people (aged 12-17) with conditions or injuries affecting their appearance.
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YP Face IT has been designed to help young people manage the psychosocial challenges associated with having a condition or injury that affects appearance, such as psoriasis. It is now freely available for young people to use at home with supervision from a parent or guardian.
YP Face IT has seven weekly sessions that provide advice and support in written, audio and video formats. It includes interactive and homework activities that teach and encourage users to practice strategies such as managing staring or bullying. Social skills, anxiety-management and cognitive behavioural techniques are taught to overcome social anxiety and target negative appearance related thoughts and behaviours that reduce self-esteem. Videos feature adolescent actors with a visible difference, who play different roles in scenarios scripted and created for the programme. Young people can hear testimonies from celebrity role models with appearance-altering conditions, learn from others who have adjusted positively to the challenges of living with a visible difference and reflect on their own experiences.
YP Face IT was designed in collaboration with young people, parents, psychologists, and researchers from the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) at the University of the West of England.