To aid the growing mental health crisis, the Benilde Red Cross Youth Council (BRCYC) conducted #UsapTayo: RespondER, a psychological first aid webinar addressing mental health distress during challenging times, last March 20 via Zoom. The webinar was in line with their #UsapTayo: Mental Health Campaign initiative which aims to raise awareness about mental health continuum, reduce stigma associated with mental illnesses, promote health seeking behaviors and emotional well-being practices, and prevent suicide through individual education.

According to a study conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority prior to the pandemic, mental illness is the third most common disability in the Philippines. Around six million Filipinos are estimated to live with depression and/or anxiety, making the Philippines the country with the third highest rate of mental health problems in the Western Pacific Region. 

Learning the basics of psychological therapeutic skills and interventions allows us to save lives and provide an overall viable opportunity in highlighting the positive steps that can be taken to promote mental health and well-being.

Roselle Castillo, Project Officer for Ayala Foundation and Education Coach for XSEED Education, Philippines shared her knowledge regarding the existing barriers to mental health and the basics of therapeutic communication skills which can be done by the youth.

“Mental health is not something we freely or openly discuss as much as we need to,” Castillo said.

Having limited mental health knowledge, the perceived social stigma and embarrassment, misconceptions towards the therapeutic relationship with professionals, and existing systematic and structural barriers are only some of the impediments faced when dealing with mental health.

In order to counteract these barriers, a deep understanding for community-based mental health should be established. This deals with the involvement of people with mental health conditions in consultative or feed backing discussions in leading health systems and being part of the service delivery.

“It is important to provide the avenue for people with mental health conditions to have access to programs and professionals that can help them,” Castillo said.

Other than being inclusive of people with mental illnesses in the process, it is also them who shall lead the decision-making regarding their own treatment plan.

“It’s still up to the person that reaches out to you what kind of help and what manner they want to receive it. Since we are not mental health professionals, we cannot dictate and prescribe yet,” Castillo added.

Such stigma is still an ongoing battle, and there are several ways to combat it. By understanding the person undergoing a mental health crisis, we gain clarity of what is really happening in their life. 

Some important things to remember are the following:

When participating in community-based mental health initiatives:

• Keeping confidentiality
• Our role is to support, not to dictate what we think is right
• What you say and do build on each other
• Helping is a process
• The ultimate goal is to empower and to manage concerns on their own or with people around them (not necessarily to resolve them)

When dealing with crisis management, one must:

• Assist
• Evaluate the environment
• Ensure 
• Involve the environment 

As the pandemic drags on with the government failing to come up with an effective response plan, recent statistics show how suicide cases in the Philippines rose by 25.7% in 2020. 

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, get help now. Talk to someone or call the National Center for Mental Health Crisis Hotline: 0966 351 4518.