The story of Empath: Envisioning compassionate mental healthcare access for all

Mental health is an advocacy that has resonated with me since my adolescent years. My experiences have led me to create Empath, a business that would help empower people through ensuring that their mental health is valued, promoted, and protected. Not only that, but I have also learned about other people’s experiences, which continues to motivate me into building an organization that could help anyone who is struggling with the same things I did. I realized that mental health has become a much bigger problem through the narratives of the people I meet.

However, mental health facilities and providers can be quite difficult to access here in the Philippines, and this is the main reason why I wanted to establish Empath. There are many barriers that affect our country’s mental health system, such as inaccessibility, costly services, and negative stigma. These are barriers that I would like to address in order to provide Filipinos with the support and care that they deserve.

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How Empath began

I was 14 years-old when I started manifesting several mental health conditions. It took a toll on my well-being and I was inclined to look for some professional help. Unfortunately, navigating my way through the mental healthcare system was extremely difficult, and at one point it was fairly traumatizing.

Throughout my mental health journey, I had to go through more than five mental health professionals to find the right one for me. With some professionals, I felt like I was just another passing patient for them. They did not seem to have genuine care and would simply clock-in and out of our sessions. However, I was thankful to find the right one, and what stood out for me was how she expressed so much genuine empathy, care, and investment in me as a person.

Not only that, but I feel like I would have given up on myself a long time ago if it weren’t for my college roommates, my family, and friends who had so much compassion and empathy with what I was going through. Such a personal encounter with the inaccessibility and difficulties of the mental healthcare system in the Philippines motivated and inspired me to establish a mental health company to address this rising problem in our country.

However, it wasn’t easy when I first started out with Empath. Like most people who are starting their own business, I faced many obstacles on my way to success. One of the most difficult ones was facing discrimination in the business community as a young female entrepreneur.

I learned that some people would not take me seriously and underestimate me and my capabilities simply because I’m a woman and I’m Gen Z.. Nevertheless, I just continued to work hard and committed to defy social expectations. As a young woman, I know I can build something great if I remain anchored to my purpose and advocacy in life.

I also realized that empathy was such a core element in the success of my mental health journey. It was something I wanted Empath’s services and culture to embody as well, hence, the name “Empath” to serve as a strong reminder and north star for our vision.

Empath actually started off as an idea that I pitched to the 2019 United Nations Global Impact Challenge, a youth mobilization competition that encourages meaningful, socially-responsible, youth-led projects. I believed that this idea could help provide mental healthcare access for other Filipinos who have similar struggles and difficulties with the limitations of mental health services in the Philippines.

Fortunately, Empath became a finalist in the competition, which further ignited my determination and commitment to officially establish it into a company. Empath began operations in the middle of the pandemic, where we first started with online counseling services.

How it’s going

Since we started our operations in the middle of the pandemic, Empath has now grown a team to over 50 individuals that consist of employees, interns, mental health professionals, and volunteers within just two years. Apart from our counseling services, the company also offers more comprehensive and customizable services to help individuals, companies, non-profits, and schools with their varying mental health concerns such as mental health talks, wellness classes, and psychosocial support trainings.

In addition, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) gave Empath a P2.1M non-equity grant as one of the top 9 women-led social enterprises in the country. Receiving this grant shows that there is hope for the future and that our country is taking a step towards developing a better world for those who are struggling with their mental health. We have also received support from various government institutions such as the Department of Trade and Industry, and City Government of Makati. Other notable organizations have supported us as well such as PhilDev Foundation IdeaSpace Foundation, QBO Innovation Hub, Dream Bigger Ventures, Ronin Group, and many more.

Empath has provided telemental health consultations to over a thousand unique individuals since the first year of operations in 2021. We have supported the mental health programs as well for various schools, workplaces, and non-profit organizations. Because of the impact and good advocacy work we’ve been doing so far, we’ve been recognized by CNN Philippines, Manila Bulletin, Lifestyle Asia, and Rappler. I was also nominated as Impact Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 by Villgro Philippines.

Although Empath has established a name in the mental healthcare industry with its services and advocacy, we recognize the fact that our organization is just a contributor to solving the barriers surrounding mental health in the Philippines today. There is a huge opportunity to collaborate in elevating the conversation and helping shift the perception of Filipinos towards mental health.

There are still many persistent problems that exist in the Philippine mental health care system. For instance, the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, fragmented mental health systems, lack of awareness caused by inadequate information on mental health services, lack of affordable facilities and providers, and an overall insufficiency of mental health services and qualified personnel.

In spite of these gaps, there is no denying that mental health has become a growing concern for Filipinos for the past few years. In fact, the Philippine Mental Health Act was officially passed in 2018, which states that it is a basic right of all Filipinos to mental health as well as the fundamental rights of people who require mental health services.

With this law, there is certainly an increased interest and awareness from organizations and schools to provide access to quality mental healthcare and implement programs and policies that address the mental health concerns of their constituents.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led many Filipinos to discover more about their mental health and seek out professional help during such trying times.

More importantly, many other organizations from different sectors and industries are realizing the importance of mental health, as we have successfully established over 30 partnerships with schools, nonprofits and private companies. We hope to continue forming multi-sectoral partnerships to help standardize policies and processes, promote local research, and improve overall delivery and quality of services in the mental health system.

What I’m looking forward to

I believe that being mentally well is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities. Mental health is just as vital as our physical health if we want to care for our overall well-being. It contributes to our humane ability to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living, and enjoy life, which is why it’s so important for us to maintain healthy mental well-being.

This is what Empath strives for—to enable every person to care for their well-being through providing them the access to the quality mental healthcare they deserve because it is our basic right as human beings. Here at Empath, we hope to foster the growth of mental healthcare and empower more people to advocate for their own and their community’s well-being.

I hope that one day, Empath can have a positive impact and support millions of Filipinos and other nationalities around the world. I hope that Empath can partner with more schools, workplaces and local government units to provide good mental health support for their communities. We’re still quite a long way from that goal, but I am definitely willing to spend all the time and energy needed to accomplish it.

I’m looking forward to the growth and impact that Empath can do for others. That’s all I hope for Empath to achieve. I hope Empath can continue to fulfill its purpose—to improve the well-being of others, and make mental healthcare more accessible for all.

Lastly, I just want to share that I would not be where I am today without focusing on my own mental health. So, for anyone out there who is struggling with their mental health, always continue to have hope. Never give up on yourself. You can take breaks and rest, yes, but never give up.

Don’t be afraid to seek help from other people. You don’t have to go through it alone. There will always be an empathic person who is willing to listen to, understand, and help you.

I can promise you that if you never give up on your recovery journey, always continue to have hope in your healing, and ask help from people who care, you will without a doubt eventually arrive at the best version of yourself.