Can you hear me? The blossom project : the provision of counselling services in schools (Annual Report 2025–2026)

Abstract

This report provides an evaluation of the school-based counselling and psychosocial support provided by the Blossom Counselling Service across 15 state primary, middle, and secondary schools in Malta during the 2025–2026 scholastic year. Administered under The Malta Trust Foundation, the project deployed a team of 15 practitioners supporting a total of 1,019 beneficiaries (including 929 students). Utilizing a mixed-methods research framework combining quantitative secondary administrative data with qualitative practitioner focus group feedback, the study explores student socio-demographic profiles, referral pathways, clinical presentations, and underlying systemic stressors. The findings indicate that therapeutic demand is highest in upper primary and lower middle school years (ages 8–12), with emotional distress (such as anxiety and emotional dysregulation) and behavioural/socialization difficulties driving the majority of referrals. The report demonstrates that classroom disruptions and academic struggles frequently mirror complex domestic instability, attachment traumas, socio-economic precarity, and unaddressed neurodevelopmental conditions (primarily ADHD and ASD). Despite significant operational, environmental, and inter-agency challenges, clinical improvement was documented in 51.02% of managed cases. The report outlines evidence-based recommendations for service optimization, trauma-informed school environments, sensory spaces, and policy reforms across social protection and educational frameworks.