Teodoro Herbosa —MALACAÑANG PHOTO
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Thursday pushed for an increase in the pay grade of clinical psychologists in government institutions to lure more medical students to pursue a practice in mental health.
In a press briefing, Herbosa said clinical psychologists in the public sector receive Salary Grade 11, or around P27,000 per month, under the Salary Standardization Law, despite having a master’s degree—a requirement to be able to practice psychology in the country. The said amount is gross salary with tax deductions and mandatory contributions to Government Service Insurance System, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and Home Development Fund or Pag-IBIG.
“I’m calling on the (Civil Service Commission) to change that. [Salary grade] should be raised. They should [get Salary Grade] 15 or higher,” Herbosa said during the launch of the Philippine Council for Mental Health Strategy Framework. Based on the 2023 table on the distribution of permanent positions in the national government that can be found on the Department of Budget and Management website, Salary Grade 15 is around P36,600 to P39,300.
He added guidance counselors in schools and mental health professionals in workplaces also get roughly the same salary, which he pointed out was causing the shortage of mental health practitioners in the country.
“What I know is we don’t have enough clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. So we need more young people to be encouraged to go into psychological sciences,” Herbosa said.
The health chief admitted funding for mental health programs is not itemized in the current Department of Health (DOH) budget. He added it is distributed in other initiatives like primary care, treatment and rehabilitation for substance abuse.
About 3.6 million Filipinos suffer from various forms of mental health issues, such as depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug use disorders, epilepsy and suicide in 2020, according to DOH figures.
Incidentally, October is being celebrated as National Mental Health Awareness Month based on Proclamation No. 452 by former President Fidel Ramos. The second week of the month is also being observed as National Mental Health Week.
Despite the growing number of mental health cases in the country, health-care workers remained insufficient. DOH Assistant Secretary Beverly Ho noted last year that there are only three mental health-care professionals for every 100,000 Filipinos.
Separate figures from the Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA), however, put the ratio at “only less than one mental health worker” per 100,000 population.
“Mental health is a universal human right … We need to make diagnosis, treatment and care more accessible to the average Filipino,” PMHA president Dr. Cornelio Banaag, Jr. said in a statement.
READ: Mental health must be top priority says Cebu clinical psychologist
The group also called for the enactment of local ordinances for mental health services, which is stipulated in the Philippine Mental Health Act, or Republic Act No. 11036, that took effect in 2018.
PhilHealth on Thursday launched its two new mental health benefit rates—the “general” and “specialty” mental health service packages—which are expected to be in effect in the next two weeks.