#HelpIsWhere: Getting mental health care in the Philippines
“May mental health problem ako, saan pwede humingi ng tulong?”
There is not a single day that I do not receive messages on #MentalHealthPH’s Facebook page asking where to get help for their mental health.
When I co-founded #MentalHealthPH in 2016, our initial goal was for people to know what mental health is and why it’s important. As the awareness campaign gained some traction, we also started receiving a surge of messages asking, “Where to get help?”
We’d always run out of answers, even more so for people coming from far regions in Visayas and Mindanao.
#HelpIsHere is a slogan many advocates and organizations used when RA 11036 or the Mental Health Law was passed in 2018. This law aims to ensure that timely, affordable, high-quality, and culturally appropriate mental healthcare is made available to the public.
After almost five years, we still ask, where is here? Where is here for someone who lives on a remote island and needs to travel for hours to go to the nearest hospital? Where is here for someone who experiences stigma in their community and is afraid to seek help? Where is here for a college student who can’t afford the services? Where is here for queer individuals looking for gender-affirming care? Where is here for indigenous people who might not have access to information in their own language?
“We’ve truly come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Help shouldn’t just be here—help should be everywhere.”
Issues on access
Availability of services
The 2021 Investment Case on Mental Health in the Philippines reported that most specialists live in Metro Manila. The mental health directory we curated in 2020 similarly revealed that very few clinics and facilities are in Mindanao and Visayas.
According to the same 2021 report, for every 100,000 Filipinos, there is only 0.5 psychiatrist and 0.1 psychologist. There are only four mental health hospitals, 58 private custodial or residential psychiatric facilities, and 29 outpatient mental health facilities in the country.
Cost of mental health services
Nikki, our Deputy Director for Communications, struggled to find and adhere to help due to the cost of her therapy and medication. Psychiatric consultation in Metro Manila ranges from P500 to 4,500 per session; psychological consultation ranges from P1,000 to 3,000. Note that most consultations require several sessions and follow-ups, as well as medication that costs P50 to 100 per pill.
Consider these numbers and compare them to the median salary of time-rated workers, reported at P13,646 in 2020. Persons with disabilities (PWD) and senior discounts can help defray costs, but these privileges are also difficult to access. Only a few private health insurances cover mental health problems; PhilHealth currently only covers hospitalized patients for certain mental health conditions like dementia, bipolar and anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia, but not outpatient consultations.
A glimpse of hope
Digital technologies have been helpful in addressing the lack of mental health facilities, especially in the regions. Clinics are now delivering mental health services remotely via telecounseling, telepsychiatry, and more. 24/7 toll-free crisis lines are also offered by the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) to assist individuals who may be experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and other mental health emergencies. Efforts to maintain good mental health and well-being are being made using mobile applications like the Department of Health’s Lusog Isip. Later this year, #MentalHealthPH will also release a DOST-funded mobile app called Gabay.
Just recently, NCMH and #MentalHealthPH signed a partnership agreement to develop a comprehensive directory of local mental health services that are user-friendly and readily accessible online. We aim to provide as much information on available mental health services to those who need it, and we hope it gives us a better picture of the gaps in our mental health care system.
While we don’t have enough answers for everyone asking where they can get help, for now, it is up to us to be a safe space of kindness, empathy, and understanding for people who need it. We’ve truly come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Help shouldn’t just be here—help should be everywhere.
