Roberta Attard
is a clinical psychologist with training in social work, Applied Systemic Theory, and other therapeutic modalities. She has been active for many years in supporting children and young persons with issues related to attachment, abuse, developmental-trauma, gender identity, depression and anxiety, loss and bereavement amongst others, and in assisting in the development of therapeutic services to provide transdisciplinary intervention. She is a full-time lecturer, supervisor, practicum coordinator, researcher, and founder member and Head of the Department of Counselling at the University of Malta. She is especially interested in discovering and exploring new and innovative ways of researching the experience of humankind, especially that of children, in whichever form this may express itself, in the pursuit of wellbeing for all.
Andrew Azzopardi
is Professor in Community Development, former Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, and former Head of the Department of Youth, Community and Migration Studies, at the University of Malta. His lecturing and research focus on social inclusion and community studies.
Patricia Bonello
is a social worker whose career in different fields of practice has spanned many years. She has occupied many roles within the helping professions, mainly in social work, including frontline social worker, psychotherapist, supervisor, social work manager, and academic. In the latter role, she tried to integrate academia with practice because she believes in the mutual enrichment of the two. Her chapter attests to this. She has a special interest in identities, particularly social work identities and studied the relationship between social workers and their profession for her doctorate. Her life experiences have confirmed to her that integrating the many aspects of the self is important and congruence is something she strives for in the various areas of her life. She presents her autobiographical chapter as an invitation to readers to reflect on how it applies to them and how it can help them reflect on their own life realities.
(M.Psych. [GPTIM]; M.A. [Melit.]; B.Psy. [Hons.]; Melit.) was an art director in Italy and Malta for twenty years, publishing two books and a few articles. After a brief stint as a tour manager with a theatre company and a production manager with a film company, at the age of 41, he went back to university to study and graduate in Psychology, becoming interested in addiction studies, community studies obtaining a Master’s degree in social psychology, and evolutionary psychology. He also completed a Master’s in Psychotherapy and is particularly passionate about servicing others and lecturing. He is now reading for a doctorate, which explores the emotion of shame with people who use drugs problematically.
Daniel Brincat
is a registered counsellor and a warranted Personal and Social Development teacher. As a counsellor, he can be of service to individuals and/or couples who are either seeking self-growth or coping with diverse mental health issues. Besides counselling different age groups, he is involved in substance abuse rehabilitation and mental health recovery programmes. Daniel has maintained a keen research interest in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and is a dissertation supervisor to postgraduate psychology and education students. Besides counselling and teaching, Daniel is passionate about fitness, literature, nature, and all the creative arts.
Anne-Marie Callus
is an associate professor in the Department of Disability Studies, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta. She is also the head of the University’s Access Disability Support Unit. She lectures, researches, and has published on disability rights, empowerment of persons with intellectual disability, inclusive education, and disabled children rights, as well as cultural representations of persons with disability. Her latest publications include the International Routledge Handbook on Children’s Rights and Disability (Routledge, 2023) and The Lives of Children and Adolescents with Disabilities (Routledge, 2024), which she has co-edited with Prof. Angharad Beckett from the University of Leeds. She is also deputy editor of Disability & Society.
is a healthcare practitioner currently working as a senior phlebotomist at St Vincent de Paul Long Term Care Facility in Malta. She graduated from the Hippocrates Medical School in Serbia with a special interest in the field of geriatrics. Her academic journey delved into the intricate interplay between socio-economic factors and the aging process, with a specific focus on the often-overlooked transgender older adult population. Through her research, she strives to unveil the hidden stories within this community, drawing valuable lessons on how to provide compassionate care as they navigate the challenges of old age. Tea’s profound inspiration emanates from her extensive experience working with older individuals in long-term care settings, where she witnesses the unique struggles faced by this underrepresented demographic. By exploring their narratives, she endeavours to contribute to the visibility and understanding of transgender older adults, advocating for tailored support systems that honour their diverse life experiences.
Marilyn Clark
is Professor of Psychology at the University of Malta. Her main research interests include addiction and criminal careers, youth, victimisation, and violence against journalists. She has been widely published in international texts and journals.
Joanne Cremona
holds an MSc in Human Geography from the University of Waikato (NZ). She has experience in change management consultancy within the public sector, has worked in the field of environmental impact assessment within the private sector, and is currently engaged within the civil society sector as manager of the Active Citizens Fund within the Economic European Area (A) NG Programme for Malta through SOS Malta. A world traveller, she has volunteered on several international development projects in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and India. As a freelance author and content writer, she has collaborated on various academic and non-fiction writing projects. Her published thesis is titled Understanding Organic as a Socially Contested Notion: A Frame Analysis (2010). As a single, separated mother of two 12-year-old children, Joanne could identify closely with the narratives presented in this book’s chapter.
is a resident academic and subject coordinator of Sociology at the Junior College, University of Malta. She lectures on gender and sexuality within the Department of Gender and Sexualities, Faculty for Social Wellbeing. Her Ph.D. research addressed the anthropology of religion and sexuality with LGBT Catholics in Malta and Palermo, Sicily. She is the author of “Life on the line: A sociological investigation of women working in a clothing factory in Malta”, as well as a number of other published works. Her main research interests are gender, religion, and sexuality, especially non-heterosexuality. She has chaired the Diversity Committee at the Junior College and is a member of the University Equity Committee. She is an activist for social justice and civil rights with Moviment Graffitti and has previously volunteered with the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement and Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust.
Ruth Falzon
is Associate Professor and a founder member of the Department of Counselling at the University of Malta. Her research and publication interests include school counselling, neurodiversity, emotional literacy, and auto/ethnography. She strongly believes in community engagement.
Marvin Formosa
is a resident academic at the Department of Gerontology and Dementia Studies, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta. He also holds the positions of Chair of the National Commission for Active Ageing (Malta) and Rector’s Delegate for the University of the Third Age (Malta). Prof. Formosa is Malta’s Country Team Leader for the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which is partially funded by the European Commission. Prof. Formosa has published widely in peer-reviewed journals on ageing policy, educational gerontology, and the University of the Third Age. His most recent book is The United Nations International Plan of Action on Ageing: Global Perspectives (with Mala Kapur Shankardass, Routledge, 2023).
Vickie Gauci
is a lecturer in and the Head of the Department of Disability Studies within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, at the University of Malta. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds, UK. Her doctoral research is entitled “Enabling Technology and Employment: Exploring the Dis/ability Assemblage”. Vickie is an Occupational Therapist by profession and has a
Natalie Kenely
(Ph.D.) is a resident senior lecturer and former Head of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta. Natalie’s lecturing centres around social work leadership and management. She coordinates students’ field placements. Her research focuses on leadership in social work, reflective practice, resilience, and wellbeing. She chaired the Faculty for Social Wellbeing’s Research Ethics Committee and served on the University Research Ethics Committee for several years. She chairs the Advisory Board of the Safeguarding Commission of the Diocese of Malta. She holds a social work warrant and is a member of the Maltese Association of Social Workers.
Greta Darmanin Kissaun
is a resident senior lecturer and former Head of the Department of Psychology within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta. She trained in Clinical Psychology at the University of Padua, Italy, and earned her Ph.D. from Regent’s University, London. She is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice and has worked extensively with severe mental health difficulties. In her role as coordinator of the professional Master’s programme offered by the Department of Psychology, she has been supervising trainee clinical psychologists since 2005. Her research interests include psychopathology, psychotherapy, and clinical supervision. Some of her research addressing these areas has been published in local and international peer-reviewed journals and edited books.
Mary Grace Vella
is a probation and social inclusion officer by profession and is a resident academic at the Department of Criminology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta. She lectures in various other Departments within her faculty and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta and has taught in a number of post-secondary educational institutions, including
Sue Vella
is Associate Professor of Social Policy at the University of Malta. Her research and publication interests include families; poverty, employment and social security; migration; and the voluntary sector. Sue recently co-authored Social Policy in Malta (Midsea, 2022).
Mark Vicars
is an associate professor in the College of Arts and Education at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. Mark’s philosophy of praxis as a scholar and teacher is underpinned by principles. He has been awarded the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for pedagogical approaches that motivate, inspire, and support socially disadvantaged and culturally diverse students to overcome barriers to learning and to experience and attain success. Mark is the lead editor of Qualitative Research Journal; a founding member of the International Institute for Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Leadership; a series editor for Critical New Literacies, DeGruyter Brill; an associate editor for Gender, Sex and Sexualities, Frontiers in Sociology and Frontiers in Psychology; and is an editorial board member for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education, Frontiers in Education.