By Ms. Nicole Natividad (AB Psychology)
With an impressive number of 855 official delegates, attended by esteemed plenary and workshop speakers across the country, with two international workshop speakers from Turkey and India, the Visayas-Mindanao Psychology Convention 2022 realized its aim of emphasizing the importance of the field in reimagining the future post-pandemic, as it took place last February 24-25 via Zoom Video Communications.
The Visayas-Mindanao Psychology Convention is a biennial event hosted by the Samahang Mag-Aaral Ng Sikolohiyang Filipino (SAMASIKOFIL) in partnership with the Ateneo de Davao University Psychology Department for Psychology majors across colleges and universities in Visayas and Mindanao, Philippines. This event has served as an avenue for discussion and workshops, allowing the exchange of knowledge and insights between experts and delegates, focusing on understanding different contexts unique to the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Dasig,” a Cebuano word which means full of life and energy, marked by high spirits of excitement, has been often colloquially used as “dasig lang,” which means ‘to take courage; hold on.’ “Padayon,” on the other hand, is also a Cebuano term, which has come to mean ‘to keep going; moving forward.’ Joined together, DASIGAYON was this year’s convention’s message to move forward in life with courage and high spirits. Emphasizing the importance of their roles as mental health advocates in reimagining the future post-pandemic, the 2022 Visayas-Mindanao Psychology Convention presented the theme: ‘DASIGAYON: Furthering Mental Health for the Reimagined Future.’
Being the second year to conduct online proceedings following the last convention, the event had invited various plenary and workshop speakers with different lines of expertise and backgrounds, and catered delegates from institutions across Visayas and Mindanao. The plenary speakers consisted of four local notables, distinguished and influential in their respective fields, namely: Dr. Randy Dellosa, the only Filipino who is both a psychiatrist, a doctor of clinical psychology, and an osteopath; Dr. Gia Sison, the head of Makati Medical Center’s Women Wellness Center; Dr. Marc Eric Reyes, President of the Psychological Association of the Philippines; and Dr. Joan Mae Perez Rifareal, the Residency Training Officer of Veterans Memorial Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry.
Subsequently, the workshop sessions were filled with local and international speakers who conducted their respective lectures for the convention. The local workshop speakers were Riyan Portuguez, a social media figure known as Your Millenial Psychologist, Nikki Vergara, Rea Celine Villa, Rey Jan Pusta, and members of the faculty of the AdDU Psychology Department namely Marie Joyce Victolero-Tupas, Gabriel Sebastian Lizada, Dr. Gina Lamzon, and Dr. Maria Isabel Lemen, the Director of the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services.
Among the highlights of the event were the two international workshop speakers from Turkey and India, Yaqeen Sikander and Swamini Brahmaprajnananda Saraswati. Yaqeen Sikander, M.A., MBPsS, is a psychotherapist and a peak-performance trainer. He is currently doing his doctoral studies in clinical psychology at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul, Turkey. He specializes in mood disorders, trauma, positive psychology, and peace psychology. Moreover, Yaqeen is an active content creator for mental health and peace. His workshop session entitled “Dealing and Healing: Healthy Coping Mechanisms for Uncomfortable Feelings” took place on the second day of the event, at 10:15AM (PHST).
On the other hand, the second international speaker hailed from India, a Hindu monk who is a traditional teacher of non-duality, the highest teachings of Hinduism. Swamini Brahmaprajnananda Saraswati is also a psychologist who has taught ‘Counseling and Therapy’ papers to the students of SNDT University, Mumbai for more than a decade. She has presented many papers at national and international conferences on Indian psychology and Vedanta, even conducting online and offline courses and immersive retreats on Vedanta and Dharma for different groups in Mumbai and for people across the world. Her workshop session for the convention was entitled “The Art of Mindfulness: The Key to Self-awareness,” which also took place on the second day of the event, at 2:15PM (PHST).
Along with inviting exceptional speakers, the event also strengthened its ties with Psychology organizations in Mindanao and Visayas, thus, the Visayas-Mindanao Psychology Convention 2022 was co-presented by the Alliance of Psychology Students of Davao Doctors College, Inc., Junior Psychologists’ Society of Kidapawan Doctors College, Inc., Xavier University Psychology Society of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, Iloilo Doctors’ Psychology Society of Iloilo Doctors’ College, North Valley College Foundation Inc. Psychology Department, and in partnership with CMC Psyche of Central Mindanao Colleges.
The two-day convention was formally opened by Dr. Rhodora Gail T. Ilagan, AdDU Psychology Department Chair, and officially closed by Nicole Natividad, the VisMinCon 2022 Event Director. Fueled by the propelling passion and drive to revamp the significance of mental health in a post-pandemic lens, the Technical Working Group was composed of AdDU Psychology students namely Nicole Natividad, Dianne Wenceslao, Harrianne Eloisa Diron, Felicity Aguilar, Frenzie Christine Ledesma, Aerielle Macaldo, and Vince Adrian Soner. With them are 31 committee members who are also students from the Psychology department, together with their moderator, Mr. Gabriel Sebastian Lizada, who all have taken part in realizing the convention to its best potential.