Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community
The social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed people to situations linked to poor mental health outcomes, such as isolation from loved ones, fear of the virus, business bankruptcy and job loss, and even return-to-work anxiety.
Because of this, experts have declared that the next global health crisis will be a mental health pandemic.
Expanded partnership
To help address these issues, the local government of Pasig City in the Philippines and MindNation renewed and expanded the partnership that began in December 2020.
Under the terms of the revised agreement, MindNation will provide free mental health services to city government frontliners.
MindNation is a mental health and well-being organization with a goal of happier, healthier employees and communities.
The organization provides expert-backed surveys, talks, training, teletherapy services, and mental health programs for teams.
Plans are also underway to extend the same service to Pasig City residents who are small and mid-size enterprise owners.
Teletherapy sessions
These services include 24/7 teletherapy sessions with psychologists, 24/7 chat support with a trained mental health professional, mental health webinars, and Premium access to the MindNation app.
The partnership kicked off with an onboarding talk from MindNation Chief Product and Data Officer, Cat Triviño, and a stress management seminar conducted by MindNation Chief WellBeing Officer, Eiza Fusingan for members of the City Government’s Ugnayan sa Pasig Unit and the Office of the City Administrator.
“A barrier to mental health support is inaccessibility; many are unable to receive appropriate, affordable services in a timely manner,” says MindNation Chief Impact Officer Kana Takahashi.
Takahashi added, “Community partnerships like these are key to improving access to mental health care and ensuring that people know where to go for help.”
Meanwhile, Atty. Diego Luis Santuago, Assistant City Government Department Head II from the Office of the City Administrator, said that the importance of mental health cannot be overstated, especially from the experience during the time of the pandemic and even during our daily duties.
“Oftentimes, our frontliners come face to face with stressful situations, affecting us mentally and emotionally, causing new or aggravating already existing psychosocial disorders. We are very thankful to Mindnation for reaching out to our local government unit and greatly alleviating the stresses of our public servant employees through their advocacies in mental health.” he said.
