Caritas Tal-Ibwar

Tal-Ibwar is where Caritas Malta works with young people whose use of drugs or alcohol has started to cause real harm. The centre takes teenagers of any gender between 12 and 17, offering them a residential place or a day programme, and it treats parents and carers as partners in the work from the very first contact. British families living in Malta can approach it directly, as well as through a school, social worker or other professional.

You will find it in our directory of community centres in Malta.

A home-like setting in the countryside

The premises feel more like a large family house than an institution, set among farmland in the Siġġiewi countryside. Young residents have en-suite bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a shared dining and living room, a digital media lab and an on-site clinic. Outdoors there is a multipurpose turf pitch, a barbecue area, quiet corners in the garden for reflection, and an assault course.

The surrounding area is rural, in the same south-western part of Malta as the prehistoric Ħaġar Qim temples and the sea caves of the Blue Grotto. Daily life makes good use of that setting, with growing food, crafts and time outdoors all part of the programme.

Three ways teenagers can take part

The day programme suits teenagers who live at home. It involves a weekly Seven Challenges group, journaling, regular key-worker sessions and taster sessions in digital media, craftwork and adventure therapy, which uses outdoor challenges such as kayaking, camping and hiking to build confidence.

The residential programme means living at Tal-Ibwar, with staff on hand around the clock, seven days a week, including evenings and weekends. A head of unit leads a team of therapeutic facilitators and domestic staff. Each young person begins with an admission phase to settle in, then becomes a full member of the community, and during the day residents attend the centre's Learning Hub for education.

Psychosocial services are open to teenagers and their families, who can come to the centre for individual, family or group sessions with a social worker, a psychologist, a family therapist and other professionals.

Support for families and carers

Caritas Tal-Ibwar involves families from the start. Services include family therapy, individual psychotherapy, psychological sessions and multi-family groups, and every young person and family receives a holistic assessment that draws together psychological, social work and medical perspectives.

Support groups give parents and carers a safe space to talk about what living alongside a young person's substance use is like. Meeting others in the same position often brings hope and reassurance, a chance to voice difficult feelings, practical tips and better ways of coping together. Parents new to the island may also find our UK guide to relocating to Malta and our overview about Malta useful for understanding local services.

The therapeutic approach

Two models shape the work. Seven Challenges, a registered programme, guides how facilitators, psychosocial staff and educators talk with teenagers about substance use, encouraging them to look honestly at their lives, decide what they want to change and then follow through, while also working on life skills and other problems around them. The Attachment, Regulation and Competency framework, known as ARC, supports young people who have lived through repeated adversity or complex trauma by building secure relationships, emotional self-regulation and practical competence. Every member of staff is trained in ARC.

The centre's ethos stresses comprehensive assessment, engagement and education, a focus on trauma and family, substance screening, harm reduction, aftercare planning, cultural sensitivity and attention to the different needs of each gender.

Referrals and making contact

To be considered, a young person must be aged 12 to 17, be using substances in a problematic way, and be able to contribute to and benefit from a therapeutic community, either as a day attender or as a resident. A back-up place to live, which can be the family home, is needed in case they leave early, along with a plan for where they will go once the programme ends. After a complete referral and the relevant care and custody documents are received, assessment results normally reach the professionals involved within about three weeks.

Tal-Ibwar is one of many Caritas Malta services, and other charities such as AAA Malta for abandoned animals also appear in our directory. Practitioners travelling from Britain for the European therapeutic communities conference in Malta in 2027 can check UK flights to Malta and hotels in Valletta.

If you are a parent, carer or professional with a question about Tal-Ibwar, please write through the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will make sure it reaches Caritas Malta.