The Miriam College Department of Psychology has recently completed a research project on developing mental health protocol within school systems under the Department of Health (DOH) and the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), particularly, for the Advancing Health through Evidence-Assisted Decisions with Health Policy and Systems Research (AHEAD-HPSR) Program. The study was conducted among 21 participating public and private schools in the Senior High and Tertiary Levels in Metro Manila and the Ilocos region, with 55 FGDs and 21 KIIs (N=489). The results of the national research will be used for national mental health policies and standards. The final output is a mental health protocol manual that can be utilized by the school communities, particularly in the Senior High and Tertiary Levels.

The research was headed by the department chair and professor, Dr. Grace Brillantes-Evangelista, RPsy, CSCLP, and was co-headed by Ms. Kachela Albert-Mariano, MA, a part-time faculty in the department. Members of the research team include Ms. Kristine Faith Moral, RPm, also a part-time faculty, and graduate students who are taking their MA/MP in Developmental Psychology—Maria Teresa L. Jardeleza, Rosalie S. Guerrero, Jannie Camille P. Sepulveda, RPm, Martha Anna Remedios N. Umali, RPm, Julla Katrina D.P. Jose, RPm, Neil Wialyn G. Guillen, and Jia Jenina J. Anchinges, RPm. Former research team members also include Rhoanne N. Ramas, John Adrianne L. Manzano, Jayleen Nobelle O. Lam, and Chanelle Ivy V. Argales, RPm. The research consultant was Ms. Hiedie F. Cariño, Research Coordinator at the Child Protection Network Foundation, Inc.

Despite the very long painstaking and rigorous process of conducting the research due to the limitations brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, the team was able to complete the project. It is their hope that the research results and the protocol manual will bear fruits, especially for the school community wellbeing and mental health care in our country.