CLARK FREEPORT -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has intensified its psychosocial services by linking up with professional psychosocial support providers to address their mental health concerns.

The Human Resource Management and Development Service (HRMDS), together with its counterpart in the Field Offices as internal service providers, is conducting mental health first response and psychological first aid via teleconferencing and other available platforms while external service providers are offering free services through their support hotlines.

According to HRMDS head Director Leonardo Reynoso, DSWD encourages "officials and staff to avail of the free well-being coaching/counseling and crisis helpline services offered by mental health and psycho-social support service partners, such as Mindwell Psychosocial Services and The Masters Psychosocial Services to help them deal with emotional crises, stress, and anxiety."

To date, around 3,300 DSWD personnel nationwide have benefitted from the mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) to include stress debriefing, counseling, mindfulness sessions, peer support group, among others.

DSWD also has social workers who are trained on psycho-social first aid and critical incident stress debriefing and can reinforce the efforts of the HRMDS and the service providers.

Meanwhile, as part of its services for the vulnerable sector during this public health emergency, the department is providing psychosocial interventions to locally stranded individuals as well as to Filipino transferees from Sabah.

Likewise, the Department, as part of its technical assistance and resource augmentation function, capacitates local government units (LGUs) to help them better provide psychosocial interventions to their constituents. Based on the Local Government Code of 1991, LGUs are mandated to provide psychosocial services to their constituents, especially those affected by disasters or are experiencing a crisis.

DSWD emphasized that availing of psychosocial services is important in taking care of ones’ mental and emotional well-being at this time of the pandemic.