Welcome to my page. I would like to start by sharing some of my thoughts behind the meaning of the symbol used in this site – the beautiful TREE.
Trees are used as symbols all over the world, it is nothing new! Many ancient traditions have imbued trees with mystical qualities of connectivity, strength and spirituality and all that which is sacred. We can all relate to the symbolism of the olive branch and the Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden.
Many cultures across the world use trees as representations of growth, tenacity and connection with their environment. Trees represent life, wisdom, prosperity, beauty of life and much more.
Their roots are embedded in a fertile soil, very much like our roots are embedded in our cultural heritage and traditions.
Their trunk and branches represent our faculty to develop and our own natural tendency for growth and development as we grow to adapt to our environment.
Their leaves are their means of nourishment by turning the sun’s rays into food pretty much like the way we are open to the world around us to help us live and learn.
Each individual tree stands alone as a separate individual yet it can only exist connected to the earth and to the sky much like we are separate and connected at the same time.
Anna Maria Borg Bartolo
M.Psy.Couns.(Melit)., M.Ges.Psy.T
Languages Spoken: Maltese, English & Italian
This section serves as a glimpse into who I am as a service provider. As a professional in this field, it is important to consider what are one’s own beliefs and values when one works with people in psychological distress as this will influence the work itself.
The philosophy that informs my work with people stems from my own experiences growing up as well as the training throughout the years of study and work with different client groups. My background is that of a working-class family in a family of four children with a single income earner; my late father worked all of his adolescent and adult life. My mother took care of my siblings and myself using the limited resources that we had. Yet, within these limitations, they managed to create a secure home embedded in values of family and community with the help of an extended family and friends. It was a happy childhood and we grew with values of appreciation, care and attention.
I was born in the middle of the international political cold war that raged between the two superpowers of the world in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. All of my growing years were imbued with a sense of foreboding that something might happen. Locally, our nation was in an enormous state of change, and as a student, I was active in trying to bring about that change and burned with a desire for our nation to join the rest of the western world. I was in Berlin soon after the Berlin wall was finally dropped down – a symbol of fight for personal freedom and civil rights.
This upbringing and acculturation have shaped my values and personal beliefs. My philosophy is inclined towards authenticity and respect for the human endeavor to find meaning. I believe in personal freedom and the individual’s push for growth. Hence, my studies in Existential Psychotherapy and Gestalt Psychotherapy earlier in my professional career were and still are important and they form the fundamental underpinnings of my work with people.
The training that I received as a Counselling Psychologist helped me to incorporate many other
concepts that play out in therapy. I can now define myself as an Integrative Psychologist with a
strong foothold in Gestalt and Existential Psychotherapy. In my work with people, I am focused on creating a safe environment based on mutual trust and collaboration with a sense of shared goals and tasks. This occurs within an environment of the therapeutic relationship – one that has reparative qualities to ease distress. This will enable the person to move from distress and pain that makes people stuck in survival mode to becoming able to thrive.
In 2023 I have also trained as a Grief Educator with the esteemed grief expert David Kessler and am now in a position to hold a therapeutic space for those persons who have gone through loss in the past or are going through loss in the present. Grief is extremely misunderstood as a human emotion and people are expected to overcome their loss without any form of assistance. Our western society is very ignorant around grief and very little is done by way of supporting a person going through the painful journey of grieving a loss. Thriving does not mean never experiencing the pain of loss, it means continuing to grow and live a rich life whilst still making space for the loss of that significant person in one’s life.
– Masters in Counselling Psychology awarded by the University of Malta 2010-2012;
– Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy awarded by Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute Malta 2015-2016;
– Diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy awarded by Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute Malta 1994-1999;
– Bachelor of Arts in Psychology awarded by the University of Malta 1988-1992;
– Certified Grief Educator awarded by David Kessler Grief Educator Certificate Program 2023
– Associate member of Malta Psychology Professional Board Warrant no MPPB165
– Registered member of Malta Association of Psychotherapy Warrant no PPBM123
