Psychological Interventions

There are a number of sources of psychological support available for those affected by facial palsy.

Peer Support

Peer support has been shown to be effective in helping those living with facial palsy manage distress, reduce feelings of social discomfort and gain information and knowledge about coping with facial palsy. You can access peer support through this webpage.

Link: Local Groups – Facial Palsy UK

Self Help

The Clinical Psychologists working in the Oxford Facial Palsy Service at the John Radcliffe Hospital have developed a series of self-help resources for people with facial palsy, and their families. Funding to develop these resources was generously provided by the Vocational Training Charitable Trust Foundation.

The resources cover a range of topics and issues known to affect people with facial palsy and can be found on the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust website (links below). They are designed so that you can work through them in your own time, and they contain information, advice and exercises to help you to cope with the psychological impact of facial palsy.

The resources cover the following topics:

Managing Anxiety – Many people with facial palsy experience anxiety, whether this is regarding their facial appearance, socialising with other people or their health. This guide is designed to help people with facial palsy feel better able to manage anxiety and as a result engage in the activities which feel important to them (Facial Palsy: Managing anxiety (ouh.nhs.uk))

Managing Your Mood – Having facial palsy can have a significant impact on people’s mood. This guide contains information, advice and exercises for improving low mood (Facial Palsy: Managing your mood (ouh.nhs.uk)

Building Your Self-Esteem – If you believe that having facial palsy has had an impact on your confidence and self-esteem, you are not alone. Lots of people report having these difficulties and this guide contains tips and exercises for building self-esteem while living with facial palsy (Facial Palsy: Building Self Esteem (ouh.nhs.uk)

Communicating with Confidence – Having facial palsy can impact on a person’s ability to move their face and communicate both verbally and non-verbally. This guide introduces techniques for whole-body confident communication (Facial Palsy: Communicating with confidence (ouh.nhs.uk)

Coping with Comments, Questions and Staring – Many people with facial palsy experience unhelpful comments and questions about their face, as well as being stared at. This guide introduces a variety of methods for managing these difficult situations (Facial Palsy: Coping with comments, questions and staring (ouh.nhs.uk)

Advice for carers, friends, family and partners – Facial palsy can not only have an impact on the person affected, but also the people close to them. This guide is written for those people close to a person with facial palsy and contains tips for how to support a person with facial palsy, as well as for how to look after their own wellbeing (Facial Palsy: Advice for carers, friends, family and partners (ouh.nhs.uk)).

There are also videos and exercises on Breathing and Meditation. These are designed to help calm the nervous system, ground and centre, which can help manage anxious or restless thoughts:

Link: (https://www.facialpalsy.org.uk/support/self-help-videos/breath-and-meditation-practice/)

The Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead has recently published the following self-help video about managing the psychological impact of a facial condition.

Therapeutic Support

Some specialist centres have a Psychologist embedded within their facial palsy service, who will be able to provide you with specialist support in managing facial palsy. You can ask your team for a referral. However, for those that do not have this access to this service, general adult mental health services can provide support to those living with chronic health conditions. You can find out more information about this through your GP or self -refer to your local Psychological Therapy Service, which you can find here (https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-a-psychological-therapies-service/)

You may be offered different types of therapy including:

CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is widely used with people experiencing distress due to a visible difference. CBT supports a person to understand the link between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and to identify the ways in which unhelpful thoughts and behaviours can have a negative impact on their emotional well-being.

CBT for appearance-related distress typically focuses on reducing behavioural avoidance, such as avoidance of social situations, along with teaching techniques to manage anxiety or depression.

Counselling

Counselling is an opportunity to talk 1:1 to a trained professional about the things in your life that you are struggling to make sense of. A counsellor should listen to you and try to understand your perspective.

What other resources are available?

Computerised CBT

  • Computerised CBT (CCBT) is carried out via an interactive online computer program; resources such as Beating the Blues may be available through your GP.
  • CCBT is also available online via unsupervised programs such as the MoodGYM

Useful websites

Self-help books

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Dummies, by Rhena Branch and Rob Willson (2005)
  • Introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): a Practical Guide, by Elaine Iljon Foreman and Clair Pollard (2011)
  • Overcoming Depression: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, by Paul Gilbert (2009)
  • Overcoming Chronic Pain: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, by Frances Cole, Hazel Howden-Leach, Helen Macdonald and Catherine Carus (2005)
  • Overcoming Chronic Fatigue: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, by Mary Burgess and Professor Trudie Chalder (2009)
  • Overcoming Anger and Irritability: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, by Dr William Davies (2009)
  • Overcoming Low Self-Esteem: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, by Dr Melanie Fennell (2009)
  • The Complete CBT Guide to Anxiety, by Peter Cooper, Roz Shafran and Lee Brosan (2013)
  • The Mood Gym: Overcoming Depression Using CBT and Other Effective Therapies, by Dr Helen Christensen and Dr Kathleen Griffiths (2011)

Last reviewed: 27-09-2022    ||    Next review due: 27-09-2025