Research over the past decade has identified the psychological and social difficulties experienced by a significant number of young people with a visible difference and their need for easily accessible, age-specific psychosocial interventions to help them lead a full and happy life. There are however very few evidence-based interventions available to meet their needs and psychological support resources can be limited. In collaboration with young people who have a visible difference and the charity Changing Faces, researchers at the Centre for Appearance Research have therefore developed an age-appropriate and easily accessible seven week web-based support programme called Young People's Face IT (YP Face IT), for young people aged between 12 and 17 years old.

It aims to address some of the key concerns of people with disfigurements, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and appearance-related distress, and provides self-management skills via social skills training and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques. The content of YP Face IT is based on an adult intervention called Face IT, which has already been evaluated and found to be successful in improving the quality of life of adults with a visible difference. Following rigorous evaluation, we plan for YP Face IT to be administered with minimal supervision from health professionals and made available via the NHS and lay-led specialist organisations throughout the UK.