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36 An exploration of parents and young people’s perspectives on the Being Me psychological group intervention for appearance related concerns

bmjpo · 2026-01-26 · canonical JSON source

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Background Children and young people (CYP) with medical conditions involving a visible difference can be more likely to experience staring, unkind comments, bullying and social exclusion which can have a significant impact on emotional wellbeing and psychological adjustment. 1 Paediatric psychology services at Great Ormond Street offer a stand alone group intervention for CYP aimed to help navigate such challenges, called the Being Me group. The aim of this service evaluation was to explore CYP’s perspectives on the Being Me workshop, as the first step to co-designing the group to better fit the experiences of CYP with visible difference.Method Parent and child feedback was collected for 46 CYP attending one of 8 groups between May 2023 and August 2024. The data was analysed using Thematic Analysis.Results Six themes were identified. ‘Learning strategies’ illustrated that CYP found calming strategies and strategies for managing staring helpful. However, some struggled with consolidating and implementing strategies after the group. ‘Creating a safe space’ was another important aspect of the group. CYP appreciated ‘Sharing experiences’ as they were able to meet and make friends with other CYP with a visible difference. The group also seemed to help with ‘Improved confidence’. The analysis revealed some ‘Barriers to engagement’, such as difficulties sharing openly, the emotive nature of the group, and understanding the content. The CYP gave feedback on aspects of ‘group design and delivery’, such as wishing for follow-up group sessions. One key area identified from this service evaluation was the need for support in implementing the learning post group. Based on this, a follow-up group will be piloted.Conclusion This service evaluation illustrated that, overall, CYP found the Being Me group helpful, although they also identified some key improvements and barriers to engagement.Acknowledgements for Funding or Support With thanks to all the facilitators and contributors to the Being Me workshop, including Fionna Bathgate, Simon Levinson, Faiben Yemane, Amy Warren, Neja Zupan, Kai Dudley, Josie Dennis, Alice Morey, Polly Kennedy, Sophie White, Lidushi Nagularaj, Natalia Lee, Sabrina Monteregge, Kinga Antal, Jan-Sher Bhatti, Gary Burgess, Suzy Gray and Kristina Soon.Reference Rumsey N, Harcourt D. Visible difference amongst children and adolescents: issues and interventions. Dev. Neurorehabilit. 2007 Apr 1;10(2):113–23. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13638490701217396 DOI: 10.1080/13638490701217396