Your Story Matters
Filipino-Australian entrepreneur Yuri Marshall relates the story of Mind You, his thriving mental-health technology company, and what needs to be done to improve the situation
It creeps up on you imperceptibly, it consumes you when you least expect it, you shrug it off and try to make sense of thoughts and emotions infiltrating your head all at once. Mental or neurological disorder affects at least 3.5 million Filipinos. Despite the high number, mental health remains a broad and sensitive topic that many people have a hard time keeping a firm grasp on.
Filipino-Australian Yuri Marshall was among the people who saw this problem. He has co-founded and chaired Mind You, a company that aims to provide affordable mental healthcare access to Filipinos.
Through heartfelt education and world-class counselling, Mind You strives to positively change the trend of mental health; rapid feedback systems and practices brought to the Philippines from advanced mental health facilities abroad facilitates the success of this goal. Mind You offers its services to local companies
who want to put their employees under mental health first aid training, sessions with a licenced local psychologist, quarterly webinars and individual mental health assessments.
“I think the evolution of mental health globally has actually progressed quite well in some regions of the world. I think the reason why is because being able to notice one’s behaviour gives us the ability to measure and create changes to shift their mindset,” Marshall tells Tatler.
Marshall has had his fair share of ups and downs. In 2019, he was on the brink of ending his life following a long-term relationship fallout. As luck would have it, a suicide hotline was available in his area. Marshall was able to receive proper mental health services and he lived to conceive Mind You with co-founder Michael Needham.
According to Marshall, the Philippines is still far behind when it comes to treating mental health disorders. He attributes this to the conservative practices embedded in most Asian cultures. “There is a huge cultural stigma on mental health in many Asian cultures,” he says. “The way I view mental health in the Philippines is that it needs to go beyond a conversation.”
In the Philippines, there is Republic Act No.11036 or The Mental Health Act that obliges the government to commit to promoting the well-being of its constituents by giving every Filipino equal and non-discriminatory access to comprehensive and coordinated mental health therapies. However, Marshall believes that the law has not reached its full potential yet.
“For a very long time the conversation on mental health in the Philippines has already been started with The Mental Health Act [but] it seems that until now, the level of activity and action has not really been pushed,” he comments.
He continues to explain that despite the existence of The Mental Health Act, many Filipinos still refuse to get their mental health assessments due to expensive therapies, and the stigma surrounding the issue. “[So far] there has been nothing done nationwide to address stigma. When we first came to the marketplace, we were questioned ‘how can we better provide service to the community?’” Marshall says.
“Before Mind You, we had a pretty fragmented industry, we had psychologists and psychiatrists setting up clinics, charging an average cost per session of between PhP3,000 skyward; sometimes, it could take up to PhP10,000, if you go to the experts. Sometimes, the cost is higher than an average [worker’s] income,” he adds.
Through his company, Marshall hopes to normalise the situation for those seeking mental health care in the Philippines. “I think that Mind You’s approach is going to be a culturally transformative approach where we mobilise and stimulate all levels of community to take action for once.”
For Marshall and the people in Mind You, mental health is a problem that should not be taken lightly. In the coming years, the team hopes to get in touch and collaborate with more institutions so this generation could start an era where mental disorders are no longer taboo.
“Mental health is a real human problem; if we do not approach it with a level of seriousness based on evidence-based data, then what exactly are we doing? Are we just going to be a nation of perception and image? Or are we going to participate in the world as an economy that is well-functioning, a society that is growing? Are we evolving? What are we going to pass to our children? Unless we educate ourselves now, how are we going to educate the next generation?” he asks.
“Mind You would love to make new partnerships; and if there is any way we could share resources, we can get a really good education or awareness out there and decrease the stigma, increase access and spread the word that it is okay to not be okay. Regardless of your background, I think getting access to mental health care is a human right,” he concludes.