From 1999 to today
The MAP was established in 1999 and inaugurated by the then Minister responsible for Health, Dr Louis Deguara, and the then European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) Secretary General, Professor Alfred Pritz. The psychotherapy profession in Malta, then, was regulated by the Council for the Professions Complementary to Medicine under the Healthcare Professions Act, Cap. 464 of the Laws of Malta.
Since then, much work followed by the Executive of the MAP. The Association qualified to become a National Umbrella Organisation (NUO) within the EAP, thus giving voice for psychotherapy in Malta at both a national and an international level.
MAP also enjoys the National Awarding Status, which gives it the authority to award European Certificates of Psychotherapy. This is a significant achievement for the MAP.
Having National Awarding Status means that the Association has been recognised by the relevant competent authorities and the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) to be involved in the granting of European Certificates of Psychotherapy to successful applicants.
Overall, this National Awarding Status is a significant milestone for the MAP, solidifying its position as an established organisation in the field of psychotherapy in Malta and the wider European context.
In 2018, further to discussions of the MAP with Government, the law in Malta regulating the psychotherapy profession as an independent profession came into force: Cap. 587 of the Laws of Malta, the Psychotherapy Profession Act.
By enacting Cap. 587 of the Laws of Malta, the Government of the day has formalised the status of psychotherapy as a distinct and regulated profession. The law outlines the parameters in line with which practitioners must abide to practise the profession of psychotherapy legally in Malta.