Unable to afford private psychiatric consultations, Lavela sought free mental health services. Demand outpacing capacityLavela and Narboneta are among the thousands of Filipinos seeking professional mental health services in the past years. According to the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Atlas 2024, the Philippines has only 3.9 mental health workers for every 100,000 population, including 0.2 psychiatrists, 0.3 psychologists, 0.7 mental health nurses, 1.1 social workers, and 1.6 other mental health workers per 100,000 population. She said the Department of Health has trained primary care physicians through the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) to identify and manage common mental health conditions, allowing patients to receive care closer to their communities before being referred to specialists when necessary. 11036, or the Mental Health Act of 2018, which institutionalized mental health services within the country’s healthcare system.