Challenges and difficulties are nothing new for the mental health system in the Philippines. Both a lack of investment in the mental health infrastructure and a social stigma around mental illness stymy progress in the area. This has resulted in a situation where 3.6 million Filipinos struggle with their mental health, according to the most recent figures from the Department of Health. Young Filipinos are particularly affected, with figures from the University of the Philippines Population Institute showing that nearly one in five Filipino youth aged 15-24 have ever considered ending their life.
One young Filipino actively working to improve the mental health system in the country is Steph Naval. Naval is the Chief Executive Officer of Empath, a startup looking to make mental health services more accessible than ever. Empath offers one-on-one consultations with licensed mental health experts, workshops, webinars, and wellness classes for both individuals and organizations. The Empath website even lets people order the medication they need.
Recently, Empath received a P500,000 grant from the InLife Negosyo Challenge. The InLife Negosyo Challenge aimed to help women-led businesses drive social good and awarded the grant to Empath just last December. Apart from the cash grant, Empath was also awarded 6 months of needs-based mentoring, technical assistance, and access to structured peer learning support.
Yet Empath also received other grants in 2022. Early last year the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) announced that Empath was awarded a P2.1 million grant.
(photo courtesy of thebaguiochronicle.com)
The grants Empath received over 2022 from both the InLife Negosyo Challenge DOST-PCIEERD empower it to scale and serve even more Filipinos. But more importantly, the recent grants will also empower Empath to sharpen what it sees as its unique value proposition—its own brand of malasakit, or the Filipino value of caring for others/empathy.
Defining malasakit
According to Naval, Empath’s concept of malasakit is really what sets it apart from other, similar mental health services. “Several clients have already shared that they appreciate the “may malasakit” way of how Empath executes our mental healthcare plan,” Naval said. “This level of client satisfaction has led to high impact, many referrals, and several renewals amongst our clients.”
Empath shows its malasakit by ensuring no stone is left unturned when helping someone in their mental health journey. For example, Empath goes out of its way to anticipate the needs of its clients and provide truly end-to-end care. Clients can book an initial mental health consultation, avail of a counselling package, and order from a list of 80+ mental health-related medicines—all without leaving the Empath website.
Empath is also willing to accommodate clients without the specific medication they’re looking for. A feature on their website lets clients suggest a medication for Empath to carry, down to the specific strength and units they need it to be carried in.
The startup even offers counselling plans for organizations looking to provide psychological care for its members. Counselling plans range from 5 to 50 sessions and all come equipped with Empath’s telemental health platform, 16-hr booking notice online counselling with a licensed mental health professional, psychoeducational email campaigns, basic quarterly reporting, basic quarterly employee mental health assessments, and service plan integration training.
Empath’s B2B mental health care plans also readily scale to accommodate thousands of clients at a time, complete with in-system quality and reliability assurance as well. Finally, Empath promises that all of its plans are client-responsive in case a client needs assistance.
Key to how Empath maintains a high level of client satisfaction is its emphasis on creating regular feedback loops. First, every consultation with a link to the post-consultation feedback form via a chat box. The startup also conducts scientifically recognized assessments to track progress amongst its clients.
The continuous feedback loop is part not only of Empath’s pursuit of client satisfaction but also its pursuit of continuous learning. This continuous learning enables the startup to continually provide services that get better and better with time—a true act of malasakit.
Unique empathy
Empath and its unique brand of malasakit is made possible because of Naval’s own experience with the Philippine mental health system.
“I’ve experienced going through the mental healthcare system for over a decade now, and in reality, not much had significantly improved,” shared Naval. “There’s so much work that still needs to be done, and the issue has been exponentially getting worse. Hence, I decided to launch Empath.”
Of course, there are still so many challenges facing Empath today. “I think the biggest challenge is the trailblazing part of helping build a mental healthcare system in Southeast Asia when most of the current psychology practices and studies are highly Western-based, and wherein many contextualized barriers against healthcare accessibility exist across Asia,” said Naval.
The still-existing barriers necessitate that the Empath team display exceptional dedication to their work. “I believe the challenges can be addressed if we are creative problem solvers, resourceful workers, perceptive thinkers, and steadfast advocates to improve mental health in the Philippines,” Naval said.
Fortunately, the startup’s influx of grants in 2022 should make it easier to weather any challenges and help Empath reach its full potential. As Empath grows, it can only mean better mental health services for Filipinos.
After all, Naval is steadfast that Empath’s eventual goal is to reach as many people as possible. “In 5 years, we’ll hopefully be able to serve over 5 million people,” concluded Naval. Although it may seem like a lofty ambition for now, it is an aim that comes from a place of wanting to help others—in other words, true malasakit.