Building a Culturally Grounded Corporate Mental Health Program: Recap of the “Whys of Wellbeing” Summit
At Narra Health, we are a mental health company in the Philippines dedicated to providing holistic mental health support to underserved communities, including OFWs and their families, as well as a corporate mental health program designed to help organizations support their people. We deliver preventative mental health care that is culturally relevant and designed to help people build resilience before a crisis hits. That is why we were proud to co-sponsor and co-present at the Positive Psychology Professionals Summit, “Whys of Wellbeing,” held last June 20, 2026, organized by the Positive Psychology Special Interest Group alongside the Psychology Association of the Philippines.
The global online summit brought together educators, clinicians, HR leaders, and healthcare professionals to explore how wellbeing science can shape practice, strengthen systems, and support human flourishing across different contexts.
Why Mental Health Isn’t Binary
Our co-founders, Karina Garcia and Tatiana Garcia, took the virtual stage to share Narra’s approach to preventative mental health. Their session opened with a core idea in positive psychology: wellbeing is not just the absence of distress, it is the presence of strengths, resilience, and meaning.
Tatiana explained that mental health is not binary. It is not just therapy, and it is not just self help. Mental health is one piece of a person’s holistic wellbeing.
“When we bring positive psychology into a holistic lens, healthcare shifts from disease management to a preventative, person centered approach to genuine flourishing.”
She also pointed to a distinctly Filipino insight from Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Filipinos often feel stress physically before they name it mentally, showing up as back pain, stomach aches, and fatigue. That framing set up the session’s focus, how to practice preventative wellbeing before people are already breaking down.
Culturally Grounded Support for High-Stress Communities
Karina spoke directly to why cultural relevance matters, especially for high stress communities like OFWs, seafarers, healthcare workers, and corporate employees. Many Filipinos normalize exhaustion and hesitate to ask for help, yet also lean on faith, family, and community to get through hard days. These are the same groups Narra Health’s corporate mental health program is built to reach.
“Positive psychology isn’t about ignoring the hard things. It’s about fostering the psychological strengths, optimism, resilience, connection, that act as a buffer before distress takes over. That is what preventative looks like.”
Kapwa, pakikiramdam, malasakit, and bayanihan were named as more than cultural values. They are the same foundations that shape how Narra Health builds preventative mental health support for Filipino communities today, through Narra Buddies for one on one care, Narra Fitness for self guided tools, and workshops and support groups for community based learning.
Advancing Holistic Mental Health Across Sectors
The summit reinforced what we see across our own programs: wellbeing support works best when it is culturally relevant, accessible, and preventative rather than reactive.
As we continue building Narra Health as a mental health platform for underserved Filipino communities and a trusted corporate mental health program for Philippine organizations, this kind of cross sector dialogue helps us stay grounded in what genuine, holistic mental health care requires.
Narra Health is a mental health company in the Philippines that believes preventative, holistic care is key to a healthier, happier nation. Whether you are an individual, a psychologist, or an organization looking to support your people through a corporate mental health program, reach out to learn more about our culturally grounded approach to mental health care.
