Charles Bonnet Syndrome Champion

Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a condition where individuals experience visual hallucinations due to sight loss. This can be very frightening, especially at first if you do not know why they are happening, but it is important to be aware that CBS is not a mental health condition and can be a normal experience following sight loss with over 1 million people in the UK living with CBS.

Maria is a member of our Support and Advice Team and she became a Charles Bonnet Syndrome Champion after learning more about the condition at an information session delivered by the charity Esme's Umbrella at the 2025 Visionary Annual Conference.

After more training sessions and officially becoming a Champion, Maria has been out and about visiting our service users across the county:

"Towards the end of 2024, I began my role as CamSight’s Charles Bonnet Syndrome Champion. I have enjoyed working closely with Esme's Umbrella in this role to develop my knowledge.

I have attended a number of our peer support groups to talk about this condition and hearing from our service users who have lived experience. I am looking forward to having visited all of our peer support groups by the end of this year, as well as speaking with individuals who would like a one-to-one conversation with me."

Maria's champion role is about supporting people with the syndrome and enabling them with strategies to try to help.

"There are some techniques that can be useful in managing the hallucinations but, for the majority of people, knowing about the existence and prevalence of Charles Bonnet Syndrome is comforting and helpful in itself. I aim to raise awareness and create the safe space for people to talk openly about their hallucinations and provide reassurance that they are not alone in their experience"

If you'd like the opportunity to speak to Maria please contact our Support and Advice team, or call 01223 420033.