Family therapy and systemic consultation in the Maltese context

Abstract

In the context of the status of psychotherapy in Malta today, I would like to explore the usefulness of a systemic approach. By way of introduction, I will give a historical perspective of the setting up of systemic psychotherapy and will interview a number of people about their perceptions of family and systemic consultation. (These include the clinical co-ordinators of the two family therapy clinics on the island, a number of practitioners who received training in systemic psychotherapy, families who received family therapy, as well as participants working in an agency who availed themselves of systemic consultation in their organisation. The feedback elicited from the various stakeholders shows that Maltese families are highly satisfied with this therapeutic approach.) From the various comments that were retrieved, it also seems that it is the philosophical thrust of the training that embraces a collaborative postmodern approach that seems to have rendered family therapy and systemic consultation so inviting.