NINETY psychosocial specialists will provide Psychological First Aid (PFA) to affected communities and disaster responders recovering from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu on September 30, 2025.
These specialists are members of the WellBeing Cluster Philippines, an organization composed of private, government, and non-profit entities, including psychometricians, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and other psychosocial response teams trained in applying PFA.
Lenbi Laborte, the group’s coordinator, said their goal is to provide immediate mental health support and PFA to the communities affected by the crisis that are still in recovery.
Laborte said they will assess the victims' needs to connect them with appropriate agencies to meet those needs.
He noted that they will provide psychological education to the victims, an initiative to share relevant information so that victims can manage their emotions and stress levels more easily during their recovery.
They will also provide psychological debriefing for the disaster responders.
"There are reported cases that responders are having difficulties sleeping. You can imagine them retrieving dead bodies and rescuing injured individuals," Laborte said.
He also said that they are doing this for the responders to prevent further mental disorders and to provide them with a way to become resilient during the crisis.
Marirose Lopez, provincial head of Social Welfare and Development, said psychosocial specialists must check in with the emergency operations center before they are deployed.
She said psychosocial specialists may check in with the emergency operations center in in the affected local government units. (Bryce Ken Abellon, USJ-R intern)