MANILA, Philippines — With too few mental health specialists serving a population of more than 115 million, the Department of Health (DOH) is considering a major expansion of the country’s mental health workforce—by training and accrediting other healthcare professionals to provide early-stage support.
Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said the government is studying a “task-shifting” or task-sharing approach that would allow properly trained healthcare workers to help with initial mental health interventions without replacing psychiatrists and psychologists.
The move comes as the Philippines continues to grapple with a shortage of mental health professionals. Mercado said the country has only an estimated 400 to 700 psychiatrists and around 2,900 registered psychologists, highlighting the enormous gap between the number of specialists available and the needs of millions of Filipinos.
More Hands on the Front Lines
Under the proposal, selected healthcare workers could undergo training and certification to assist in the early stages of mental health care, including assessments and initial interventions, while more complex cases would still require referral to qualified specialists.
Mercado said the DOH plans to work closely with psychiatrists and psychologists in developing the program and determining who can be trained, what qualifications will be required and what safeguards should be put in place.
The goal, according to the health chief, is to expand access—not lower professional standards.
The proposal has also been reported by other Philippine news outlets, which noted that the government is looking to tap a broader healthcare workforce as demand for mental health services grows and specialist shortages remain a major challenge. Recent discussions have also placed greater attention on mental health support in schools and communities.
A Shortage Years in the Making
The workforce problem is not new. The Philippines’ Mental Health Act, or Republic Act No. 11036, calls for mental health services to be integrated into basic healthcare and specifically provides for the capacity-building and training of health workers and other service providers.
The law also envisions community-based mental health care, with local governments playing a role in training service providers and expanding access at the grassroots level. In other words, the DOH’s latest proposal could be seen as an attempt to accelerate an approach already embedded in the country’s mental health policy framework.
What Happens Next?
Mercado said the DOH will consult mental health specialists on how the training and certification program should be designed. He has also directed DOH hospitals to strengthen their mental health teams, including preparations for possible outreach to schools.
But the proposal will likely raise important questions: Which healthcare workers will qualify? What services will they be allowed to provide? How will patients with serious or high-risk conditions be identified and referred? And will there be enough funding and supervision to make the program work safely?
Those details could determine whether the initiative becomes a meaningful solution—or another policy struggling to overcome the country’s shortage of healthcare workers.
The broader healthcare workforce remains a national priority. The government’s proposed 2026 budget includes billions of pesos for the National Health Workforce Support System, aimed at addressing shortages and deploying health professionals to priority and underserved areas.
The Bottom Line
For many Filipinos, getting mental health support can depend on where they live and whether a specialist is available. The DOH’s plan could bring basic and early mental health assistance closer to communities by expanding the number of trained people on the front lines.
However, training more healthcare workers will not eliminate the need for psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health specialists. Instead, the success of the proposed system may depend on one crucial factor: whether it can expand access while ensuring that patients who need specialized care get it quickly and safely.
As the DOH moves forward with consultations, the question now is no longer simply whether the Philippines needs more people working in mental health.
It does. The bigger question is whether the government can build the system, training and specialist support needed to make those additional hands truly count.
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