Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there is already a growing need for easy access to affordable mental healthcare for those suffering from stress, anxiety, and undiagnosed or untreated mental health conditions.

In fact, per 2017 data, the World Health Organization estimates that six million Filipinos are living with depression and anxiety. That number may have grown as the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns forced people to stay indoors for months.

Meanwhile, nine out of ten Filipinos said they had a poorer state of mental health during the first lockdowns in 2020, based on the PhilCare Community Quarantine Wellness Index. This perhaps rings truer, with rising COVID-19 cases over a year into the pandemic.

Interestingly, nine out of ten also said they were afraid of a “second wave” of infections at the time the study was conducted.

To help address this growing concern among Filipinos, PhilCare introduces Mindscapes, a new mental health service, which was launched to give customizable and scalable programs to individuals and companies that wish to support their employees through their mental wellness journey.

Derived from the phrase "mental landscape," which focuses on all aspects of a person’s mind and its capabilities, Mindscapes seeks to deliver the best care possible for those with mental health concerns to achieve overall well-being.

Using a tech-enabled platform, Mindscapes provides clients with convenient and secure access to mental wellness benefits to make sure that they feel safe when they seek help.

With Mindscapes, individuals can avail of affordable prepaid health plan products, specifically through MindCare and MindCare PLUS. Both provide for counseling sessions or telemed sessions with a counselor and a psychiatrist, if necessary.

MindCare services can be accessed using the HeyPhil app, while MindCare PLUS, which offers video consultations, is accessible via PhilCare’s Member Gateway at www.philcare.com.ph.

Both MindCare and MindCare PLUS are available for PhilCare and non-PhilCare members. Non-members may purchase a prepaid MindCare mental health plan for P1,000 and MindCare PLUS for P3,000 at https://shop.philcare.com.ph/.

Aside from services for individuals, Mindscapes caters to corporate clients, offering a wide array of services that help identify and address mental health challenges in the workplace. Companies can opt to include coverage for in-app consultations and counseling for their employees, have access to mental health policy development assistance, program monitoring, webinars, and educational materials and resources. Mindscapes also provides testing services for companies to determine employees’ needs through an assessment of their psychological state.

Mindscapes is the brainchild of Jaeger L. Tanco, a known figure in the healthcare and financial services sector. As one of Mindscapes’ main proponents, he sees it as a project that can help many Filipinos to have easy access to affordable mental health services, especially with such concerns spiking during the pandemic-induced lockdowns.

“Throughout my years in business, we have met colleagues and partners who have struggled from stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems. And it’s very saddening to think that there are more people out there who are suffering but can’t afford help. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve developed Mindscapes. We want to let people know that everyone deserves better mental health care,” said Tanco, who serves as PhilCare’s President and CEO.

“We’re glad to offer a technology-based solution in Mindscapes that can help quickly address the growing need for mental health services in our country. Through our artificial intelligence-powered applications, we hope to provide faster and greater access to people who need this kind of care the most, especially that the pandemic is far from over. We’d like to give them hope in our own way,” said PhilCare Director Eusebio H. Tanco.