SPARK! Philippines, in partnership with Vanguard Assessments and the Austrian Embassy Manila, with the support of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, have organized a three-part mental health talk series. With the success of the first two sessions, the third and last part of the SPARK! Conversations which will give focus on the members of the LGBTQ+ community will be held on September 27, 2019, 1:00-5:00 PM at Commune Cafe + Bar, Makati City.
The mental health talk is specifically targeted to help and promote discourse about the members of the LGBTQ+ community who had to deal with mental health problems due to social issues such as gender-based violence, discrimination, and inequalities.
According to Heretohelp, LGBT people have higher rates of mental health challenges than the general population. As compared to people that identify as straight, LGBTQ+ individuals are 3 times more likely to experience a mental health condition. The SPARK! Conversations aims to provide help and support to the LGBTQ+ community with the mental health issues they have faced due to discrimination, societal pressures, and stigma.
In a report by UNDP and USAID, the position of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) on LGBT people is now aligned with international bodies, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and British Psychological Society. For the PAP, lesbian, gay and bisexual orientations are normal variants of human sexuality.
With the prejudice and discrimination that the members of the LGBTQ+ community are experiencing, we hope that this mental health talk will help them cope with this social stigma and create an avenue where they feel safe to connect and share.
With the passage of the Philippine Mental Health Law, the mental health talk seeks to promote efforts to improve awareness and encourage discussions on mental health in the Philippines, especially in the LGBTQ+ community. Through this, we can able to protect and help end the stigma against mental health.
ADVT
