Polaris

Polaris is a wellbeing centre with an unusual home. Its founder found a disused woodworks factory in the north of Malta and turned it into what the team calls the WellBEing Factory, a relaxed, unpretentious space where therapy, brain-training, bodywork and learning sit under one roof. The setting is deliberately informal: no shiny marble floors, plenty of bean bags, and a welcome intended to feel more like a community hub than a clinic.

The centre focuses on brain health and peak performance rather than illness, and its interdisciplinary team works together on each client. On VisitMalta.co.uk it appears in our directory of psychologists in Malta. This page covers the services, the people behind them, the premises and how to start.

The idea behind the Factory

Polaris was founded by Cher Engerer Kerr, a psychologist who found in her own private practice that her tools never fitted every client and that sending people to other professionals across the island often added stress. Her answer was an integrative, brain-based, whole-person approach in which specialists from different disciplines share understanding, feedback and resources about the same client.

The philosophy recognises that people live through mind, body, brain, heart and soul, and that no single approach to wellbeing suits everybody. Each client receives a bespoke, solution-focused care plan that is reviewed every three months. Services are available worldwide through virtual platforms, and locally the team works with individuals and organisations online, at the factory, or possibly at your home or office.

The centre also works to reduce stigma by avoiding words such as illness and clinic in its everyday language: it is a factory that produces wellbeing.

The centre's stated values put people ahead of numbers: clients are treated as equals, the team works together like an orchestra without competing for credit, and each practitioner is expected to stay open to feedback. Interdisciplinary working is central, so no single profession is considered more important than another. If you see no change in the first six months, the team takes that more seriously than you do. Warmth and quality in every interaction are expected, and titles are not used to assert power over clients.

The five hubs

Polaris is organised into several hubs. The WellBEing Factory is the general one-stop shop for health and wellbeing. The BrainGym offers QEEG brain mapping and neurofeedback, a way of measuring brain activity and training it with feedback, aimed at unlocking potential. The BodyBar is a sanctuary for somatic healing and relaxation. The LRD Hub covers learning, rehabilitation and development, and the Corporate Hub supports employers.

There is also a programme of classes, courses and events at the factory, listed on the centre's what's on page. The photographs on this page show the open hall, the group sessions and the treatment rooms.

Therapy and psychology

The core team includes psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors. Cher is a psychologist and training consultant licensed by the British Psychological Society as a personality and ability test psychometrician, with training in executive coaching and neurofeedback and more than fifteen years of therapeutic work. Laura Sue Armeni is a warranted occupational psychologist and psychotherapist who is specialising in EMDR and works with career guidance, coaching and team development.

Associates include a counsellor and CBT practitioner, a Gestalt psychotherapist who also offers intuitive body massage, and practitioners in clinical, health and psychology practice with experience of trauma, DBT, ACT and work with children and adolescents. A wider circle of friends of the factory includes psychiatrists, a family therapist, an Italian and English-speaking psychotherapist and EMDR specialist, a lifestyle doctor, fitness and massage practitioners, and a speech pathologist on the associate team.

If you are weighing up relocating to Malta from the UK, a centre that brings several professionals together can reduce the effort of finding the right help in a new place. Online sessions also suit people working remotely from Malta. Nothing here is medical advice, and anyone with a health concern should speak to their doctor.

The wider team

Stephanie Xuereb is a senior associate, counsellor, psychotherapist and CBT practitioner who takes a person-centred approach. She spent four years in Ireland working with people facing addiction, running a cancer support group and building a private practice. Vibhuti Sharma, a junior associate and psychology practitioner, spent more than a decade supporting liver and kidney patients and living donors, and is a member of the British Psychological Society.

Carlos Hernandez holds master's degrees in clinical psychology and in neuropsychology and education, studied in Spain, Italy and Malta, and specialises in equine-assisted services with children and adults alongside CBT and EMDR. Oyin Oladipupo focuses on trauma-informed therapy, resilience coaching and culturally responsive care, drawing on CBT, DBT, ACT and mindfulness. Janice Aquilina is a health psychology practitioner, nutritional consultant and DBT specialist with experience in national mental health services, and Henrietta Cassar is a health psychology practitioner with a particular passion for working with children and adolescents. Andria Pullicino, a recent University of Malta graduate in communication therapy, supports speech, language and swallowing needs.

Among the friends of the factory are consultant psychiatrist Dr Peter Muscat and Dr Donatella Agius, who leads Malta's Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team and heads the specialist eating disorder unit at Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek. Mike Orland is a warranted psychotherapist who practises couples and family therapy. Silvia Fenech is a psychologist and psychotherapist, fluent in Italian and offering sessions in Italian and English, who specialises in EMDR and the Emotional Freedom Technique. Maria Chiara Leone is a Gestalt psychotherapist who supports adolescents and adults, and Corinne Cilla is a pharmacist and head of school who is also a warranted Gestalt psychotherapist.

Sarah Stephenson, a lifestyle doctor and holistic health coach, Ian Sammut, a fitness consultant and massage therapist, Claire Ciantar, a complementary therapist, and Ryan Farrugia, a sports massage therapist, round out the offering on the physical and lifestyle side.

Brain health, neurofeedback and bodywork

The BrainGym uses QEEG brain mapping and neurofeedback, and the centre hosts the service professionally. Managing partner Dean Engerer Kerr directs it, bringing an engineering and business background and a personal history of stroke recovery that led him towards rehabilitation and coaching work.

The BodyBar is about somatic healing, relaxation and massage. Karen Theuma, a senior associate, offers Gestalt psychotherapy, intuitive body massage or a combination of the two, centred on the mind-body connection and emotional regulation. The factory also brings in sports massage, complementary therapies and fitness coaching among the practitioners connected with the centre.

Corporate wellbeing and development

Organisations can use Polaris for wellbeing programmes, assessments, training and development. The team includes psychometric expertise, executive coaching and occupational psychology, which suits employers wanting career guidance, recruitment support or team development. This is relevant to companies in Malta's financial services sector and iGaming industry, where staff often arrive from abroad.

Visiting and how to start

Reception hours are 10am to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays. The factory is on Triq Burmarrad in San Pawl il-Baħar, an area of the north-east coast convenient for the best beaches in Malta and wider things to do in Malta. The Mellieħa guide covers the nearby north of the island. For a day out after an appointment, the sands at Golden Bay are a short drive along the coast.

Most clients report an improvement in health and wellbeing within about three months, and the team commits to following up if progress is slower. To begin, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to Polaris.