Maria Zerafa

My areas of expertise

For the last 9 years I have been working within the social sector where I have encountered many different families and individuals, all with their unique lifestyle and world view. This has allowed me to build a very versatile and flexible way of working where connecting with the person in front of me is my main priority.  In my social work years, I became used to working with people from all backgrounds and different ethnicities. During these years I trained in an informal way under the guidance of a community psychiatric nurse. This has allowed me to acquire a privileged, first-hand experience of how mental illness can manifest within a person’s life especially when it is still undiagnosed and undefined. In particular, I worked at length with the caregivers of persons with mental illness; a client group which I am still very passionate about.

This has led me to grow the wish to be able to help my clients in a more emotional and psychological way, and thus I moved on to become a Gestalt psychotherapist. Today I focus my practice on the individual and I moved away from the social work world. In the last 4 years of psychotherapy practice I have worked with adults who experienced trauma, anxiety, depression, strained relationships, abusive relationships, cognitive difficulties, and much more.

My current main interest is into Grief therapy, and I am currently following a course to become specialised in the area. My love for Grief therapy was born out of my personal experiences of loss and grief that birthed in me the wish to accompany others in their own losses and grief processes.

My training and professional accreditations

In 2014 I graduated in Social Work through the University of Malta where I proceeded to work as a social worker within the NGO of St Jeanne Antide Foundation (V/O 005). For the next 4 years I worked as a community social worker within Birzebbugia and Hal Tarxien where I learnt a lot about community development. I also practiced outreach to families who were very vulnerable and hard to reach by mainstream services. I was awarded the warrant in 2016 (warrant no 485).

In 2016 I also started reading my Masters Course in Gestalt Psychotherapist with the Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute Malta (EAPTI_GPTIM), and in 2018 I was already practicing as a psychotherapist within the Foundation for Social Welfare Service (FSWS). In 2020 I graduated with a Master’s degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and I also got my warrant (warrant no 245).

In 2022 I started working towards my certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction within the Portland Insititute for Loss and Transition. I am currently still employed with FSWS and I also have a private practice.