Solon wants stronger mental health support in SUCs

MANILA, Philippines — With less than a month to go before the new academic calendar, Parañaque Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has called for stronger mental health support within state universities and colleges (SUCs), amid rising numbers of students being diagnosed with anxiety and depression disorders.

In a statement on Tuesday, Yamsuan said he has already filed House Bill (HB) No. 7354, which seeks the establishment of a Mental Health Office (MHO) in all SUCs—which he believes will complement efforts by other education authorities like the Department of Education (DepEd), particularly the opening of a 24/7 helpline for students in elementary and secondary schools.

“While the DepEd has been focused on ensuring the mental well-being of students in the basic education sector, no such initiative has been institutionalized at the tertiary level to benefit college students, who are as vulnerable to emotional stress, depression, and even bullying,” Yamsuan said.

“Our proposed legislation will address these gaps in the implementation of government programs aimed at effectively responding to the growing mental health crisis among our youth,” Yamsuan said.

Under the bill, it will be the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) that will be responsible for creating an MHO, which will then set up a campus hotline for students with mental health concerns.

This, Yamsuan said, will be similar to the DepEd’s Learners TeleSafe Contact Center Helpline, which was launched nationwide during the second week of May.

READ: Angara: DepEd’s TeleSafe Helpline offers direct link to NCMH hotline

“The Mental Health Offices shall set up campus hotlines with dedicated and trained guidance counselors to provide assistance to the whole SUC Community, especially the students. Special attention shall be given to those identified to have mental health problems or conditions, especially those at risk of committing suicide,” Section 4 of HB No. 7354 stated.

“The CHED and the SUCs, through their Mental Health Offices, shall initiate and sustain a heightened campaign to raise the collective consciousness about mental health. The awareness campaign shall give special emphasis to the issues of suicide prevention, stress handling, mental health and nutrition, and guidance and counseling. The campaign shall ensure that the whole SUC community, especially the students, is aware of in-campus mental health services,” it added.

According to Yamsuan, he thought of the bill after being alarmed over a study from the University of the Philippines’ Population Institute, which found that 7.5 percent of Filipino youth aged 15 to 24 have experienced suicidal thoughts.

This is more than twice the 3 percent recorded in 2013. Meanwhile, those who said they felt depressed rose from 7 percent in 2013 to 11 percent in 2021.

READ: Pandemic fuels suicidal thoughts in youth

Yamsuan also cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which stated that the country has recorded 3,133 deaths due to intentional self-harm—about 30 percent of which involved individuals aged 15 to 24 years old.

READ: Mental health crisis: 404 student suicides in 2021-22

“Hindi lamang academic pressure kundi stress, anxiety, depression at iba pang mental health concerns ang maaring maranasan ng mga college students, lalo na kung sila ay nagtratrabaho habang nag-aaral, o kaya naman ay malayo sa pamilya,” he said.

(It’s not only academic pressure but also stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns may be experienced by college students, especially if they work while studying or if they are far from their families.)

To ensure that schools will have a supply of mental health workers, the SUCs will “hire, train and deploy mental health professionals, including a psychologist, to the Mental Health Office to ensure that each SUC shall have mental health professionals or mental health service providers.”

This, once the bill is enacted into law, should be implemented within five years.

CHEd will also be responsible for training college graduates for them to “gain and develop the necessary skills to render counselling services to faculty, students and school personnel, and assist them in managing mental health issues.”

“The CHED and the SUCs, through the Mental Health Offices, shall formulate a scheme for the continuous training of mental health service personnel, taking into consideration the latest scientific studies, psycho-social approaches and know-how on mental health and mental health services, in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10912, otherwise known as the ‘Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016’,” it added.

“We hope that our fellow lawmakers will recognize the urgency in passing this measure that aims to institutionalize mental health services in SUCs. The lack of mental health support not only affects academic outcomes, but also one’s personal well-being, and sadly, could sometimes lead to self-harm,” he noted. /cb