Adjusting to Sight LossA CBT Group Programmeby Maryrose Maguire

A structured group programme for the emotional and relational side of sight loss. Six weeks. Whether you're newly diagnosed, living with low vision, registered blind or legally blind, or somewhere on a progressive path, you're welcome here.

This programme was designed from the ground up for people living with sight loss, with every practice, tool and piece of material built with your reality in mind.

Unlike One-to-One therapy, this gives you a clear weekly framework and the quiet, unexpected relief of doing this work alongside others who understand exactly what you are going through.

Six weeks. Your whole self.

Tap any week to read more.

Built for sight loss. Not adapted after the fact.

There are no worksheets to fill in, no PDFs to squint at, no forms you cannot read on your own. The CBT skills are real and clinically grounded, the way you practise them is built for how you actually live.

• Audio-first. Every between-session practice is a short guided audio recording you can listen to in your own time, on the phone you already own. Five to ten minutes, never more.
• Voice, not pen. Where a sighted course would hand you a thought record to write, you speak your answers into your phone's voice memo, or simply think them through with the audio guiding you.
• Intake by phone. No form to fill in alone. We complete the intake together on a call before the course begins, so I have what I need and you have nothing to chase.
• Live sessions on Zoom. Audio-only fully welcome. All visual content described aloud, always. Sessions recorded as audio replays in your inbox within 48 hours.
• Formats on request. Large print, plain-text screen-reader versions and Braille summaries of the staying-well plan available, free, on request at intake.
• A sighted partner who wants to help? Optional companion notes for a spouse, adult child or friend acting as scribe, only if you want that, never assumed.

Not a webinar. A circle.

Ninety minutes, live, online. Camera on if you want. Audio-only is completely fine and fully supported throughout. Each week opens with a brief settling practice, then a short piece of teaching, then guided discussion and small breakout pairs, then a tool you take into the week ahead.

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

• ✦  Six live 90-minute sessions with Maryrose, in a small supportive group
• ✦  Audio replays within 48 hours, in case life happens
• ✦  A workbook designed from scratch for sight loss, available in large print, screen-reader friendly text, and audio
• ✦  Guided audio practices to use between sessions, no visual content, no screen required
• ✦  A private between-session space to ask questions and stay connected to the group
• ✦  A personal plan you build across the six weeks and leave with

Built for how you actually read, listen and move through the world.

Most therapeutic materials are designed for sighted people. Worksheets in small columns. Slides full of text. Homework that assumes you can write or read print easily.

This programme was designed differently, from the first draft.

Every piece of material is available in three formats: large print at minimum 24pt, high contrast, no columns or tables; screen-reader friendly plain text; and audio. All content is described aloud during every session. Settling practices use breath, sound and body sensation, never visual imagery.

If you have specific access needs, a particular screen reader, a preferred format, anything at all, tell me at the discovery call and we will set it up properly before week one begins.

A small group programme. Not One-to-One therapy.

What this course is: a structured group programme for the emotional and relational side of adjusting to sight loss, drawing on person-centred, grief and CBT-informed approaches, with mindfulness integrated throughout. Each week introduces a named skill or framework, explained clearly and applied to what people actually face when their sight changes.

Who leads it: Maryrose Maguire, a pre-accredited psychotherapist (IACP) with formal CBT training and a focus on adjustment to sight loss.

What it draws on: the international evidence base for CBT and behavioural activation in sight loss, including Rovner and Casten's VITAL trial in age-related macular degeneration and Hodge and colleagues' research on emotional support for people with visual impairment in the UK. This is an early-stage offering from a pre-accredited psychotherapist; the established Irish sight loss organisations have far longer and deeper experience in this space, and I have a lot to learn from them.

What it is not: it is not individual psychotherapy, it is not a clinical treatment for a diagnosed condition, and it is not a substitute for medical care, ophthalmology, low-vision rehabilitation, or One-to-One therapy if that is what you need. It is not training in mobility, technology or daily living skills. If you are in acute distress, in crisis, or experiencing thoughts of self-harm, a group programme is not the right setting. Please reach out for One-to-One support, and I'll say the same honestly at any discovery call.

How it sits alongside other care: many people take this course while also seeing their consultant, their GP, a sight loss support organisation, or while in their own One-to-One therapy. The course is designed to complement those, not replace them. No diagnosis required.

A note on the materials: every worksheet, reflection and practice in this programme was written from scratch for people living with sight loss, rather than adapted from materials designed for a sighted population.

I work to the IACP Code of Ethics and Practice, which includes a duty to represent my training and services accurately. If anything on this page is unclear about what you'll actually get, please ask before booking.

The practical bits.

Be first to know. Join the waitlist.

Cohorts are small and fill from the waitlist before doors open publicly. Add your name and I'll email you as soon as the next round is announced, usually a few weeks ahead.