The role of families and systemic connection in mental health recovery

The 10th anniversary of ACAMH Malta was celebrated with a conference which focused on the role of families in the life of their children titled ‘Stronger Together: The Role of Families and Systemic Connection in Mental Health Recovery’. This took place on May 5-6 and held at Villa Arrigo Hall. 

This milestone event brought together various renowned international and local mental health experts and explored how families, professionals, and systems should collaborate to support mental health recovery.

Key learning messages from this event, valid for service developers, clinicians, and policymakers included; 

• Family-based interventions and their impact on child and adolescent mental health

• Multi-agency collaboration between schools, healthcare providers, and communities

• The influence of social determinants on mental well-being

• Innovative strategies for building resilience and promoting recovery

"Mainstream is like a straitjacket… no teacher ever spoke to me. I was non-existent."

This quote, shared during Kylie Poppe’s presentation at the ACAMH 2025 Conference, reflected a painful reality for many neurodivergent children and families navigating mainstream education. Schools teachers often lack the training, resources, and therapeutic mindset to meet complex needs, and families are left feeling excluded, unsupported, and unheard.

Dr Amina Al-Yassin built on this, reminding us how, “we are all in the same room, but not in the same boat.” This quote encapsulates how systematic inequalities like language barriers, poverty and long referral waiting lists all determine how children experience and navigate that storm.

Sarah Bianco also shared educators’ concerns: “There is no policy document in the school for us to follow,” she remarked during the conference. Indeed, ADHD inclusion needs more than broad SEN policies; it demands tailored guidance, targeted training, and consistent allied health support. Flexible teaching, sensory tools, and strong school-policy links are key to safe, responsive learning environments. To move forward, we need national data that drives real, systemic change.

Professionals at the conference also shared their own personal experiences as parents with having to fit into a rigid educational system which does not cater for neurodivergence. ACAMH Malta highlighted the urgent need for the delivery of evidence based training in mental health literacy to schools in malta.  

These discussions at the ACAMH Malta’s annual conference highlight urgent priorities for policy and practice, including: trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming education; integration of mental health and education systems; ⁠meaningful family-school collaboration; ⁠early, equitable access to support; and staff training and well-being as foundational

It is time to rethink inclusion not as a tick-box, but as shared responsibility across sectors. We need to do more than just talk about inclusion. We need systems that listen, respond, and adapt with kindness, flexibility, and real collaboration.

The system needs to change, not the child.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”                       

For more information about ACAMH Malta, visit www.facebook.com/acamhmalta