PRESS RELEASE
WDC-84-2018
19 December 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., in partnership with Healthy Mind Initiative, held a team-building activity focused on promoting mental health and wellness among its personnel on 18 December 2018 at the Philippine Chancery Annex Building.
Healthy Mind Initiative (HMI) is a collaborative effort among the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), federal and county government partners, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community organizations and leadership. It highlights the importance of mental health literacy by educating about mental illness, substance misuse, and suicide among AAPI youth, with a focus on prevention and early detection.
“Healthy Mind Initiative empowers AAPI parents to detect, prevent, seek treatment and at the same reduce the stigma that has been a huge problem in our culture,” said USPHS Capt. Marivic Fields, one of the lead presenters of HMI.
For the Embassy’s team-building activity, the HMI presentation was tailored to focus on managing stress, giving basic information about the most common mental disorders, and identifying mental health resources.
USPHS Capt. Fields, Cdr Leo Angelo Gumapas, and LCdr Nicole Pascua facilitated the activity.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez expressed appreciation to Healthy Mind Initiative for partnering with the Embassy in educating the team about the importance of mental health.
“As public servants, we should be especially conscious that no one is immune to mental health issues. We must continue to arm ourselves with the appropriate knowledge and skills to individually and collectively deal with these issues, and to develop empathy for those experiencing psychological distress,” Ambassador Romualdez said. ###
PHOTO RELEASE
WDC-186-2018
19 December 2018
Embassy’s Minister for Political and Legislative Affairs Rosanna Villamor-Voogel presents their group’s discussion points in one of the breakout sessions of the HMI team-building.
PHOTO RELEASE
WDC-187-2018
19 December 2018
Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister Patrick A. Chuasoto (2nd from left) presents the certificate of appreciation and gifts to HMI representatives Cdr Gumapas (left-most), LCdr Pascua (2nd from right), and Capt. Fields (right-most) at the conclusion of the team-building activity.