FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: LASALLIAN SERVICE PLAN

LCLSTWO Y15

MEMBERS: ANG, Jillian, MENDIOLA, Janna, MIRALLES, Isabelle, and WARIKAI,Kyla

1. What social issues are we passionate about? What do we know about this
social issue? What led us to be concerned about this issue? Why is there
a need to respond to this social issue? How does this social issue affect
the community where we belong (or the larger society)?

Social Issue: Mental Health Stigma

- Time seems to fly by these days, and the fact that the pandemic has been
going on for two years is almost unfathomable. Mental well-being is just as
vital as physical well-being. In the Philippines in particular, mental
disorders and illnesses like depression and anxiety are somehow taken as
imaginary and non-existent. Furthermore, the public sector, particularly
the Philippine government, has given the persisting stigma minimal
attention. There is also a lack of action towards mental health in our
society and as a result of the pandemic, the number of people suffering
from anxiety, mental health illnesses, suicides, and death rates has risen
dramatically, necessitating our attention to this social issue/problem.
Although even before the pandemic began, mental health issues were
already existent, but lacked attention and awareness from the public.

- Mental health issues tend to be caused by stress, which eventually builds

up as time goes by without the help of a health professional. Regardless
of its possibility of leading to death, it is still treated as a trivial issue
compared to other physical illnesses. Thus, people with mental health
issues struggle in society with the little support or attention being given to
them. Mental health should receive the same attention and importance
that our society gives physical/general health. As more people experience
mental health issues, the country’s productivity decreases as they
contribute less to the economy of the country. While the country’s
employment rate may go down and lead to greater poverty, the prevalence
of mental health issues in the country could cause other countries to see it
as an unhealthy or unsafe place to live in.
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LCLSTWO Y15

2. Are there existing organizations that address this social issue? What have
they done so far? How are they addressing this issue?

- Apart from public or governmental institutions, several private, non-governmental

organizations, and small groups in the Philippines are supporting the campaign
or raising awareness about mental health stigma. Furthermore, because we now
live in a digital world, the utilization of social media platforms is extremely
beneficial to help spread awareness.

- Founded in 2016, Youth for Mental Health Coalition is a nonprofit organization

that utilizes social media as a platform to bring awareness on certain mental
health issues among the Filipino youth. This resulted from the collaboration of
various student organizations in the Philipines in response to the high number of
suicide rate among university students, prevelance of mental health illness
among the youth, the violation of human rights among people with mental health
issues, and the lack of service for mental health. They mostly hold forums and
discussions on mental health.

- MentalHealthPH, which began as a social media campaign in 2016, has over

43,000 members from different parts of the Philippines. Through talks, forums,
and discussions, they aim to increase the support for Filipinos who are
experiencing mental health problems while collaborating with various sectors to
promote the objectives of the Philippine Mental Health Act and encourage
mentally healthier practices in various workplaces. Other than online platforms,
they also hold seminars and workshops and form campaigns in partnership with
other organizations. This corresponds to their Three S Framework, which
includes self, society, and system, and their Three O Approach, which includes
online, on-ground, and onward.

- In response to disasters and other health emergencies, the Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support Philippines gives psychosocial support or intervention to
the survivors through capacity-building with the help of several psychosocial care
providers in the country. Their head trainer and program director also helped the
victims of the most devastating disasters by being part of the first-response
teams.

- Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA)/Psychological Association of the

Philippines (PAP), Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA), Philippine
Neurological Association (PNA), several government agencies/associations that
train and educate people to become mental health professionals who can
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LCLSTWO Y15

contribute to society's growth. They also contribute to studies on mental health.

In this time of crisis, several of them also provide counseling and consultation
services, as well as webinars and lectures about the situation and to raise
awareness about the stigma associated with mental health.
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LCLSTWO Y15

REFERENCES:

Conditions, B. of W. (n.d.). Govph. Mental Health Service Providers. Retrieved November

17, 2021, from https://bwc.dole.gov.ph/mentalhealthserviceproviders.

Santos, A. (2017, October 10). 7 Groups and Projects Changing the Conversation on
Mental Health in the Philippines.
https://magiscreative.net/2017/10/10/7-groups-and-projects-changing-the-conversa
tion-on-mental-health-in-the-philippines/

https://www.facebook.com/YouthForMentalHealth/about/?ref=page_internal

https://mentalhealthph.org/about/