Exploring the impact of language on counselling in multilingual Malta

Abstract

Malta’s bilingual and increasingly multilingual landscape shapes how clients and counsellors use language in counselling. This qualitative study explores how code-switching contributes to therapeutic processes in Malta from counsellors’ perspectives, underscoring the role of language as both a constraint and a resource: when engaged deliberately, code-switching can deepen therapeutic understanding. Seven multilingual counsellors participated in three focus groups (online and in-person). Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Two overarching therapeutic contexts emerged: Shared-Language Therapeutic Space (counsellor and client share a linguistic/cultural background) and Therapeutic Space with Navigated Language (no fully shared background; interaction often relies on English as a lingua franca). Within shared-language spaces, code-switching supported emotional authenticity, moment-to-moment attunement, and relational connection, with Maltese often carrying greater affective immediacy with English serving as an intentional emotional buffer. In navigated-language spaces, counsellors described increased cognitive load, fine-grained challenges around dialect and style, and emotional flattening in English, alongside adaptive strategies (mirroring, non-verbal/creative methods, collaborative sense-making). Findings are discussed through code-switching theory and influenced by interactional sociolinguistics, highlighting how language choice mediates affect, identity, and alliance. Recommendations include embedding multilingual responsiveness in training, strengthening access to language resources, and cultivating reflective flexibility around switching practices.