It has been more than a decade since the Committee on Standardization and Accreditation of Residency Training was renamed Board of Accreditation of the Specialty Board of Philippine Psychiatry (SBPP). The SBPP is composed of two bodies namely the Boards of Accreditation and Certification. These bodies are mandated to uphold the highest standards of accrediting psychiatry residency training programs (Board of Accreditation) and granting diplomate status to graduates of these programs (Board of Certification). Guided by the biopsychosocial and spiritual model of health, the Board of Accreditation remains steadfast in ensuring that psychiatry residency training programs continue to be relevant to current demands of mental health and psychiatric care in the country. In addition, it sees to it that these programs are in harmony with global standards. As psychiatry faces new challenges in the third millennium, certain innovations and iterations in the manner by which mental illnesses are diagnosed, treated, and prevented must be set in place. Through its Millennium Developmental Goals, the United Nations has declared that the achievement of gender equality is an effective way of combating disease. Mental health problems and psychiatric disorders are closely linked with gender-related issues. Yet, many residency training programs in the Philippines have not formally and systematically integrated gender sensitivity into their curricula. The same can be said of the concepts of religion and spirituality. Numerous researches have established the positive link between religion and spirituality and mental health.
Psychiatry ; Internship and Residency

Most medical faculty members assume various roles such as educator, administrator, clinician, and researcher. (1) Furthermore, they act as role models for students and instruments to improve student wellness. Strategies geared towards the faculty can therefore promote a top-down approach to enhancing student wellness. (2) Unfortunately, there is a dearth of data about this. If we expect the faculty to take care of students’ wellness, then we must ascertain the faculty’s wellness as well.
Faculty, Medical ; Students

Objective: This study aimed to describe mental health practice patterns, perceptions, perceived responsibility, confidence, barriers, and supports of pediatric residents in a tertiary government hospital to arrive at recommendations in enhancing their mental health competencies. Methodology: As part of needs and baseline assessment within an existing collaboration, written self-administered questionnaires were distributed among pediatric residents of the hospital. Frequency of answers were tallied to see clustering and trends. RESULTS: Most of the 37 Pediatric residents had positive perceptions i.e. 78.83% - 83.78% and planned to incorporate all aspects mental healthcare in their future practice as consultants i.e. 89.19 %- 97.29 %. However, they did not get to practice or apply it as much during training. All respondents perceived that diagnosing the neurodevelopmental disorders of Autism Spectrum, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity, Intellectual Disability and Learning was their responsibility. When it came to confidence in diagnosing other psychiatric disorders less than half to 3/5 (45.9%- 64/9%) were confident or very confident in doing so. Approximately three fifths (56.75% -67.56%) of them were confident in managing neurodevelopmental disorders. There was an even lower proportion i.e. one fourth (16.21% - 32.43%) of pediatric residents who were confident in managing other psychiatric disorders. Time was the most often perceived barrier while more exposure and training were the supportive factors for integrating mental healthcare into practice. Conclusion With such positive perceptions already in place, programs to improve knowledge and skills can be developed to increase confidence, focusing on diagnosing and managing psychiatric conditions. Target areas as guided by this research can be on how to use screening tools and psychotropics, diagnosing anxiety and behavioral addictions, and managing psychosis and trauma. These should be incorporated in a time-efficient manner into usual patient interviews. Training and added exposure can be utilized in the short-term as well as institutionalization of collaboration, liaison, and feedback systems in the future.
Mental Health

Objectives: In the light of increased suicide risk among adolescents, this research aimed at determining the prevalence and severity of suicidal ideations and behaviors of senior high school students in a public secondary school in Metro Manila using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Methodology: This is a descriptive cross-sectional school-based study, conducted on 236 senior high school students, 18 years old and above, in San Juan National High School (SJNHS) in San Juan, Metro Manila. The study employed convenience sampling. Upon selection, the C-SSRS was administered. Data on four constructs of suicide were gathered: 1) suicidal ideation severity; 2) intensity, which was quantified in terms of frequency, duration, control, deterrents and reasons for suicidal ideation; 3) suicidal behavior rated on a nominal subscale as actual, aborted, interrupted, preparatory behavior and non-suicidal injurious behavior; and lastly 4) lethality of actual suicide attempts on a 6-point ordinal scale, and if actual lethality was zero, potential lethality was further rated on a 3-point ordinal scale. Results: The majority (67.8%) had mild suicidal ideations; 37.71% had active suicidal ideations with intent but not necessarily a specific plan and only 13.98% had active suicidal ideation with intent to act and a specific plan. The intensity of suicidal ideation was not that frequent in 35.59% of the respondents i.e.18.64% 1x/ week and 16.95% less than 1x/ week. About a third (30.07%) had very short duration of suicidal ideations i.e. fleetingly (19.92%) or less than an hour/ day (11.02%). A third (32.62%) were able to easily control (18.64%) or control with minimal difficulty (13.98%). Reason for suicidal ideation were either to get attention (10.59%) or to end the emotional pain (11.02%). A third (30.93%) had actual attempts (15.25%) and Non -Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI) (15.68%); while another 35.06 % had interrupted (16.53%) or aborted (19.07%) attempts. Those who had actual attempts, 41.67% had no physical injury while 50 % incurred minor injuries. Thirty- two (88.89%) had suicidal attempt that was likely to result in injury but not likely to cause death. Conclusion In light of these relatively high prevalence rates for suicidal ideation and behaviors, schoolwide intervention on education or awareness programs, gatekeeper training, peer leadership, skills training and screening or assessment may have to be instituted to curb the increased suicide risk of the senior high school students and further prevent suicide attempts.
Prevalence ; Suicidal Ideation

With the establishment of the Republic Act No. 11036, more popularly known as the Mental Health Act, improvement in the mental, neurologic, and psychosocial health took a step forward in the Philippines. This law, which was signed on June 2018, gave specific provisions in different aspects of delivery of mental health services to Filipinos. This law proved very useful in the dilemma faced in the following case where a potential problem in confidentiality was encountered.
Mental Health Services ; Confidentiality ; Mental Health ; Philippines

Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among patients who received antiretroviral treatment; describe the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with Major Depressive Disorder; as well as compare the quality of life among those with and without the co morbid psychiatric illness. Methodology: A descriptive study was performed at a local hygiene clinic. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered, using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) for screening depression and confirmed by Mental Status Exam (MSE). Quality of life assessment was done through WHOQOL-HIV BREF questionnaire. Results: Of the 130 respondents, 31 (23.85%) subjects were assessed to have depression. Among the different sociodemographic and clinical factors, younger age (p value = .0174) was associated with depression. Though the quality of life of a Person Living with HIV (PLHIV) fell in the acceptable category, those who had depression had poorer quality of life in all subdomains especially in the psychological and social domains and these were all highly statistically significant (p value <.0001). Conclusion The study revealed that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) was prevalent in almost one fourth (23.85%) of HIV patients who were mostly of a younger age i.e. less than 45 years old; with 90.32 % of the 31 noted to have MDD were less than 35 years old. Patients with concomitant depression had a poorer quality of life not only psychologically but in all subdomains compared to those who were not depressed.
Depression ; HIV ; Quality of Life

Objectives: This study explored the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the relationship between certain sociodemographic factors these depressive and anxiety symptoms among the participants. Methodology: This research used a quantitative cross sectional study design. The participants were selected through convenience and snowball sampling. They answered a Sociodemographic Survey, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Frequency and Percentage were used to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and to tabulate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis was used to determine the relationship between certain sociodemographic factors and depressive and anxiety symptoms among the participants. Results: Of the 212 women in this sample, 96.2% showed anxiety and 43.9% manifested depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Younger participants and those in post- partum experienced higher levels of anxiety while those with lower educational attainment had lower levels of anxiety as well as that of depression. Those with more pregnancies were more likely to have higher levels of depression and those at 2nd and 3rd Trimester of their pregnancy were less likely to develop higher levels of depression than those during their postpartum period. Conclusion This study demonstrated that certain concerns during the pandemic represented a significant risk factor for mental distress among pregnant women as well as those who had just given birth. Screening of patients for possible psychiatric symptoms and common concerns should be prioritized upon their routine ante-natal care. Support measures must be considered for women during pregnancy or perinatal period to safeguard this susceptible population.
Depression ; Anxiety ; Pregnancy ; Covid 19

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the resilience level of non-medical personnel of the University of the Philippines Manila – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) and determine whether this was associated with sociodemographic factors such as gender, length of service and job position. Methodology: A cross-sectional study that included non-medical personnel using convenience sampling via email was done. Data was obtained through the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14) as well as a sociodemographic factors questionnaire. Descriptive and non-parametric correlational analysis of data was used. Results: One hundred twenty five of the 153 respondents (81.70%) garnered a resilience score of 74-98 or moderate to high resilience level, while 28 or 18.30% had a resilience score corresponding to very low and on the low end. The mean resilience score was 81.8, corresponding to a moderate resilience level. More women than men had a resilience level of moderate to high. Respondents with greater than 5 years of work experience within the hospital had higher resilience levels than those who were less experienced. Moderate to high resilience levels were found in more administrative than non-administrative personnel. No significant association was found between resilience level and the factors analyzed. In terms of Resilience Core Characteristics, all comparisons between demographic factors of interest and Self-reliance, Purpose, Equanimity, Perseverance and Authenticity yielded insignificant results except for Self-reliance versus length of service, which showed a weak but significant relationship. Exploratory factor analysis found that the unidimensionality of the RS-14 Scale (US Version) still applied when administered to Filipinos in this particular population. Conclusion Majority of the non- medical personnel of the UP -PGH had moderate level of resilience. There was a lack of significant association between resilience level and demographic characteristics like age, length of service, and position in the study sample. In terms of Resilience Core Characteristics, comparison between length of service and self -reliance showed a weak but significant relationship.
Resilience, Psychological ; COVID -19

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the comorbid sleep disorders on Polysomnography (PSG) of patients complaining of insomnia symptoms. Methodology: This is a retrospective study among patients who underwent diagnostic and split-night polysomnography from April 2014 to February 2019. Those who had at least one of the following insomnia symptoms of difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep and early morning awakening with or without a history of sleep aide use were identified as patients with insomnia. Polysomnography sleep parameters and outcome were tabulated and statistical analysis was done using SPSS v 20.0. Results: Out of the 302 patients who were included in the study, 34.4% of subjects had a family history of sleep disorder and 70.4% had a history of sleep aide use. Among the medical comorbidities, 47.7% of the subjects were diagnosed with hypertension while 10.65% were diagnosed with psychiatric disorder. Most of the patients complained of both difficulty initiating sleep and early morning awakening. PSG sleep parameters showed that patients did not experience excessive daytime sleepiness or delayed sleep latency. On the other hand, poor sleep efficiency could be due to increased arousal index. Half of the patients turned out to have severe obstructive sleep apnea (52%) while 2.3% of the patients had periodic limb movement disorder. Among those diagnosed with severe OSA, 53.3% had a history of sleep aide use. Conclusion The study showed the importance of screening patients with insomnia for underlying comorbid sleep disorders. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) treatment guidelines for chronic insomnia emphasized the need to have a high index of suspicion for this population in order to recommend diagnostic procedures such as polysomnography. Diagnosing a patient with insomnia to have an underlying sleep apnea and/or periodic limb movement disorder would change the course of management among patients with chronic insomnia and eventually avoid prescribing medications that could actually worsen the patient’s condition.
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Polysomnography ; Comorbidity

This paper summarizes a lecture on psychiatry and spirituality, which examined research onthe relationship between religion, spirituality and mental health, and discussed theimportance of addressing spiritual issues in psychotherapy. In this article, religion andspirituality are first differentiated from one another. Next, research on the relationshipbetween religion and mental health is examined. Third, a theoretical model is presentedexplaining how religious involvement may affect mental and social health. Fourth, a review of religious/spiritually-integrated psychotherapy is presented with a focus ondepression/anxiety, moral injury, and PTSD. Finally, further resources for more informationabout the topic is provided. Because many people in the Philippines are religious, and religionaffects mental health one way or the other, it cannot be ignored by psychiatrists who practicein this country.
Religion ; Spirituality ; Depression ; Anxiety ; Suicide ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Psychotherapy