Psychology in the Philippines: An Imaginative Deconstruction (Article In Progress)

One day, a woman named Juana is in the middle of her 12-hour shift, working as a factory worker in a Chinese-owned goods processing manufacturing company.

When suddenly, she received a call from one of her six children named Timo. “Hurry home, mom, Nica is under her epileptic attack again”.

Juana then rushes to their home only to see her daughter already pale and weak, “Nanay, I want to give up already”. She replied, “No, you promised your Nanay you would never give up right?”

The next morning, she received a call from her irate Chinese boss and told her, “Don’t bother anymore going to the factory, you’re contract is terminated immediately today”. Tears in her eyes, Juana suddenly burst into tears while her eldest son, Timo secretly watches her and the agony that she feels.

<Sound of a bell ringing at 6 AM in the morning> “Wake up! It’s time for your daily bath and breakfast!”, said a loud voice of a man walking along the hallway. Suddenly a man wearing a white medical uniform walked into the room and exclaimed, “How are you feeling today, Ms. Juana?” And she reluctantly replied, “Who am I? Why I am here?”

Hi everyone! This is Miggy of U-Niche Manila. Please take the time to read first the imaginative story above as this will help us to understand better our topic for this article.

Later on, we'll take you back to the story of our protagonist but for now, let us dig deeper to the real topic behind our story for today.

That is the issue of mental health and the current condition of the field of Psychology in the Philippines.

Come and join me as we delve deep in a topic that often is being overlooked in the Philippines and that is the issue of mental health. For a developing country such as the Philippines, mental health, unfortunately, is one of the least priorities.

People oftentimes, go to a doctor immediately once they feel symptoms of high fever, recurring headache, or an unusual internal body pain but how many times do we go to the doctor once we feel overwhelming feelings of anxiety or reoccurring panic attacks?

First, let’s have a little overview of the field of Psychology and its background here in Asia, particularly in the Philippines.

Psychology: A Brief History

Psychology, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is the study of the mind and behavior. The origin of Psychology can be traced thousands of years back in 428 BC when Philosopher Aristotle coined the term “psyche”, a greek word that translates to “mind, spirit, or soul” and he described it further as the seat of human knowledge.

However, it was not until the year 1879 that Psychology became officially established as a field of science as Wilhelm Wundt known as the Father of Psychology developed the scientific field’s first-ever scientific laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

Psychological Health Care Facility in the Philippines

National Center for Mental Health, the largest government-funded mental health facility is providing various inpatient and outpatient services for almost a century.

Formerly known as Insular Psychopathic Hospital Mandaluyong Mental Hospital, the institution caters a wide range of patients from economic classes A to D.

The services being offered by NCMH include but are not limited to: psychological testing, clinical assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation. NCMH also offers a suicide prevention hotline service that caters support to people from various walks of life who are in need of a critical preventive support.

If you happen to know someone who might be in need of immediate help, you may reach out to the NCMH Crisis Hotline at 8531 9001,

Psychological Disorders: A Taboo in the Philippines

Psychology and Philippine Pop culture had an estranged relationship with each other over the past generations until the slow yet noticeable rise of various movies and TV shows in the past decade that tackle different mental health problems such as Rhodora X, Miracle in Cell no.7 (Philippine Adaptation), Greatest Love, and My Perfect You.

Mental health is often regarded as taboo and is oftentimes, considered a controversial television and film content topic.

One such mental condition is Schizophrenia, a psychological disorder that disrupts not only the life of its victim but also of the people around him/her.

The said mental disorder is characterized by a loss of the sense of reality and a deterioration in the patient's overall cognition.

According to a report from Johnson and Johnson's Philippine Health Information System (PHIS-MH), Schizophrenia accounts for the highest number (42%) of mental health-related patient admissions in the country (Cited from CNN Philippines Life).

This number is quite alarming as this could mean that less-serious mental health problems such as Depression and Anxiety disorders are often left untreated.

Mental Health Bill: A Glimmer of Hope

The Mental Health Act of the Philippines, popularly known as the Mental Health bill was put into law last June 2018. The bill encompasses several aspects and facets of mental health including but are not limited to the following:

• A mental health treatment system that is not limited only to the hospital setting but is now extending to the community setting.

• Protection of mentally-ill people from discrimination, oppression, and any type of abuse.

• A mandatory consent from the family members/legal guardians if there is any treatment to be done to a mental health patient.

• Addition of Substance-related abuse to psychological health care.

• Integration of mental health subject(s)/school activities into the school curriculum.

• Ensures that a sufficient amount of budget is appropriated for the sector and this includes more budget for mental hospitals and other psychiatric institutions.

• The law also aims to protect and further incentivize mental health professionals.

The bill aims for an overall improvement in the Philippines' mental health system that has the potential to put it on par with that of the world's developed countries.

The Mental Health Bill of 2018, which is a much stronger version of 2001's Philippine Mental Health policy is the nation's response to the United Nations's call for better mental health legislation in all of its member countries.

The law seeks to end the decades-long of neglect to the aforementioned sector and pave the way for a better mental health system in the country for years to come.