In 1999, a group of counsellors started discussing the possibility of forming an association for counsellors since the number of these professionals had increased substantially.
In early 2001, the coordinator of the University of Malta’s counselling services called a meeting for all qualified counsellors. This meeting was held during the last week of June 2001 and the importance of establishing an association made up of qualified counsellors was reflected upon. A working group was thus set up by these qualified counsellors. Outreach through meetings with professionals working at Cana began. This group also wanted to raise awareness and educate the public on who could be referred to as a counsellor. This was carried out mainly through newspapers.
At this point, the importance of establishing clear roots for qualified counsellors became necessary, setting up a professional body to represent the profession of counselling, and safeguarding professional standards. The working group took this endeavour on board and proposed and scheduled the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) for January 2002 at the University of Malta’s Erin Serracino Inglott Hall. They named this organisation, the Malta Association for the Counselling Profession (MACP), a name that celebrates qualified counsellors as professionals.
During this first AGM, with a lawyer in attendance, the statute was presented and approved; and the first MACP Executive Council was elected. The following agenda was set for the following few years:
1. Lobby with the University of Malta to start offering a master’s course in counselling.
2. Locally advocate for the counselling profession.
3. Work towards the profession being legally recognised.
4. Make Maltese Counselling internationally known.
5. Provide the best Continued Professional Development (CPD) training possible for counsellors in the Maltese context.
These milestones became reality in the span of the first few years. As of 2004, MACP started offering CPD training. An extensive list of training has been organised by MACP during these years, contributing regularly to outreach on mental health and self-care*.
In 2008 and 2016, MACP organised the annual conference of the International Association for Counselling (IAC) in collaboration with IAC.
In 2010, MACP started drafting a document to warrant the profession to present to the Government of Malta.
In 2015, counselling became regulated by law. This law led to the establishment for the Council for the Counselling Profession (CCP), in the Board which regulations the profession and issues professional warrants for counsellors and counsellor-supervisors.
In 2020 MACP started to have a CCP representative, as the largest association of counsellors in Malta; a chair it still holds to date.
In 2022, MACP celebrated its 20-year anniversary, with eight cohorts of University of Malta Graduates and over 200 counsellors establishing themselves in various organisations and agencies across Malta and Gozo in several sectors: from Education, Health, to Social Welfare, among others.
*List of these trainings organised can be found on our MACP website.