From thumping baselines to flashing lights and smothering crowds, music festivals can be a stressful and disorienting place.

Throw alcohol, drugs and mental health issues into the mix and things can get hoary.

But a new concept is hitting the local festival scene, offering anyone feeling overwhelmed more than simply a space to chill out.

“The idea is to offer a safe space where you can talk to a professional, have a chat and calm down,” said Matthew Bartolo, the founder of Willingness Malta, a multi-disciplinary team of therapists.

Mr Bartolo, a counsellor specialised in sex and relationships, said the new concept being offered at music festivals, free of charge, was called Chat Bar – a tent in which festival goers could get something off their chest or pull themselves together with the help of trained professionals. “This is something that is offered in festivals abroad – a space to come off drugs or get some kind of support.”

Chat Bar has already made an appearance at the recent electronic music festival called Glitch, attracting some 90 revellers throughout the two-day event.

Mr Bartolo said he had been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who used the service.

“We had people come in for all sorts of reasons, and it shows there is an appetite for something like this,” he said.

People stumbled into the tent because they were feeling disoriented or overwhelmed by the event. Others had just been involved in an argument or a fight and needed to vent frustration.

“Someone came in because their friend had been arrested after he was found in possession of drugs. He just needed to talk it out with someone and get it off his chest.”

But why would someone walk into a tent to advertise that they’ve taken drugs? Mr Bartolo said this had been taken into consideration and Chat Bar had been set up away from the centre of activity and to a quiet side of the festival fields near the exit.

“We want it to be accessible but not right in the middle and we want people to feel comfortable walking in,” he said.

Mr Bartolo said the tent service worked hand-in-hand with festival organisers, security, paramedics and venue owners to ensure it was all smooth sailing.

On the back of its debut success, the air-conditioned tent will now be making an appearance at the upcoming week-long festival The Bubble.