Prevention
Prevention offers psychotherapeutic, counselling and educational services to vulnerable people in the community, including youth experiencing mental health issues and couples and families, where an escalation of conflict could result in homeless/rooflessness. Prevention aims to empower individuals and foster a deeper sense of belonging to a broader community.
Psychotherapeutic Services
Our mental and spiritual health services were first initiated in 2016 as part of the Youth Empowerment Programme. Students then studying for their master were recruited to give free psychotherapeutic and counselling services to our younger clients in need.
The principal objective was to promote a space for professional development by offering youth a vital opportunity for personal growth through self-awareness.
In 2017, YMCA Malta extended the reach of this support to the broader community. This was done to serve the most vulnerable among us, for whom private mental health therapy is not not financially tenable. In collaboration with the YWCA Malta, these services were offered at premises in Msida.
The demand for this service has unfortunately grown exponentially since this time. Between 2018 and 2022, 1,244 psychotherapeutic sessions were given to service users. It has now been incorporated into an essential Wellbeing Programme. In 2023, we received 143 new referrals and gave 954+ hours of therapy at our Family Centre. In the first half of 2024, we have received 70 new referrals, and given 690+ hours of therapy. We ask for a €10 donation for each therapy session, which covers the cost of providing this service.
These counselling and psychotherapy services provide mental and spiritual support to individuals and families who cannot afford or access private services.
Programme Objectives:
- Offer individual and group psychotherapy/counselling sessions.
- Provide clients with professional intervention and understanding, in response to their specific emotional and behavioural needs.
- Engage clients on the basis of respectful communication and warm, unconditional nurturing empathy.
- Encourage clients to develop skills in specific target areas with the goal of having them attain full autonomy and independence in all aspects of their lives.
Our Psychotherapeutic Services including Family Support Groups, Community Administrative Support, as well as Educational Workshops and Talks – are all carried out from The YMCA Family Centre located in Ta’ Xbiex.
If you are training to become a psychotherapist and/or counsellor and would like to help us continue providing mental wellbeing to vulnerable people who cannot afford it, please contact us here