MLAC Institute for Psychosocial Services, Inc.

07/08/2026

📣 POSTER-MAKING CONTEST MECHANICS
Join us in our campaign to promote safety in our home and school environments. 🍃

To kickstart this year’s Parenting Academy 12, MLAC Institute is holding a poster-making contest for kids and adolescents aged 7 to 20 years old. ✎ᝰ🎨⋆⑅˚🖌️

3 WINNERS* will get 3 FREE tickets (1 child + 2 adults) to MLAC Institute’s Parenting Academy 12 to be held at The Mind Museum on September 5, 2026.

👀 Keep your eyes peeled on our socials on August 26 for the announcement of winners! The winning entries will be posted on MLAC’s social media accounts. 🖼️

Don’t forget to read through our contest mechanics. We look forward to receiving your entries soon! 📩

For any questions or clarifications, you may send us an email: [email protected], or reach us through SMS/Viber: +63 916 736 3082 📥

👍🏽 Share with someone who will want to join!

*If the winners have already purchased their tickets, we will provide reimbursement. 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️

06/08/2026

Our recent posts on the Ate Syndrome have sparked such a rich and meaningful discussion online. We’ve been deeply moved by your stories, reflections, and questions.
While we haven’t been able to reply to every comment, we wanted to bring you into the conversation by responding to some of them in real time.

Thank you for trusting us with your experiences and for helping create a space where people feel seen, understood, and less alone.
Please continue sharing your thoughts and questions. Your stories don’t just help us. They help others realize that they are not alone in what they’re going through.

We appreciate each and every one of you!
More conversations like these are coming soon. 🌿

06/08/2026

We are looking forward to seeing you at the 1️⃣2️⃣th year of MLAC Institute’s annual Parenting Academy entitled: “LET’S PROTECT OUR CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH! How to Prevent Violence in our Families, Schools, and Communities” on September 5, 2026 (Saturday).

Acts of violence continue to threaten the safety and well-being of our children and families. We believe that it is more important than ever to PREVENT these from happening. We can nurture environments that recognize and affirm the innate truth-telling and wisdom of children.

Parenting Academy is a space where we can learn from and freely discuss these issues, leaving us more empowered to care our children/youth. Let’s uplift one another as we build a safe nation through parenting and child-caregiving!

Thank you The Mind Museum for joining us in this advocacy and co-presenting Parenting Academy this year!

Save the following details and secure your tickets now at bit.ly/MLACPA12 🔗
bit.ly/MLACPA12 🔗
bit.ly/MLACPA12 🔗

📆 05 September 2026 (Saturday), 9:00-11:30AM
📍 The Mind Museum, BGC, Taguig City
🎟️ PHP 1,000*

See you there! 💚
Help us share to those who will find this gathering helpful ✨

*Discounts given to Seniors, PWD, and school-going children. Message us to avail.

03/08/2026

🤔 Bakit tinatawag na “Bullying Capital of the World” ang Pilipinas?

Dr. Honey joined Singapore’s Channel News Asia CNA on Insight to unpack what’s behind bullying in the Philippines, and why this issue demands urgent attention.

📺 Watch the full episode with Dr. Honey and other Philippine experts in “Why Some Call the Philippines the ‘Bullying Capital of the World’.”

🔗 Link here: https://bit.ly/CNAbullying

(Or click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TiffbWIUJY&t=4s)

💬 What do you think needs to change? How can we protect our children? Share your thoughts below. We’ll continue this important conversation at Parenting Academy 12 on September 5, 2026.

31/07/2026

Thank you very much to those who tuned in to our FBLive!

Let's keep this important conversation going! For its 1️⃣2️⃣th year, Parenting Academy will talk about: "LET'S PROTECT OUR CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH! How to Prevent Violence in our Families, Schools, and Communities"

SAVE THE DATE:
📆 05 September 2026 (Saturday), 9-11:30AM
📍Mind Museum, BGC, Taguig City

Thank you The Mind Museum for co-presenting Parenting Academy!

👀 Watch this space for more information on how to reserve your tickets. Feel free to message for institutional invites and partnerships!

Share your art, score free tickets!
Dr Chris read the mechanics to the POSTER-MAKING CONTEST. Sharing here --

LET’S PROTECT OUR CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH!
MLAC’s Poster-Making Contest

How do you nurture peace and harmony at home and in your school? How do you protect yourself and others from family, school and online violence?

Join us in our campaign to promote peaceful home and school environments. To kickstart this year’s Parenting Academy 12, MLAC is holding a poster-making contest for kids and adolescents aged 7 to 20 years old. Three winners will get three free tickets (2 adults and 1 child) to MLAC’s Parenting Academy 12 to be held at The Mind Museum on September 5, 2026. Winning entries will also be posted in MLAC’s social media accounts. We look forward to receiving your entries soon!

CONTEST MECHANICS:
1. This contest is open to youth aged 7 to 20 years old.
2. Use these questions as prompts in creating your poster: How do you nurture peace and harmony at home and in your school? How do you protect yourself and others from family, school and online violence?
3. You may use either two-dimensional visual arts media (e.g. watercolor, oil, acrylic, etc.) or digital arts media (e.g. using Procreate, Sketchbook, etc.) to create your original work.
4. Each contestant is allowed to submit only one entry. Please write your name, age, the title of your poster and a brief explanation of the poster along with the artwork as an attachment. Send your poster to this email address: [email protected] with the subject heading, “MLAC Poster-Making Contest.” Make sure that the image you submit has a clear resolution.
5. Deadline for submission of entries is on August 15, 2026. Three contest winners will be announced on August 17, 2026 through MLAC Institute’s social media accounts. Winners’ creations will be shared across our social media accounts and on Parenting Academy 12 (Sept. 5, 2026).

(Poster illustration: Makasha Madamba)

31/07/2026

A Conversation with Dr. Honey Carandang

28/07/2026

💬 So many people resonated with our post on Ate Syndrome.

One of our Instagram followers sent us this heartfelt message:
“I realized that I was raised to take care of everyone in my family, often at the expense of my own needs and well-being.
But now I feel stuck. How do I move forward from this?”

These questions are very important. It’s easy to arrive at the conclusion that healing means turning your back on your family.

However, that excerpt is not about loving our families less. More so, it’s about learning how to care for ourselves, too.

I’d like to introduce a concept I coined in my book, Filipino Children Under Stress: the Tagasalo.

Tagasalo translates to “one who catches.”

Many of us were raised to catch other people’s burdens, to solve their problems, absorb their pain, rescue them from difficulties, and hold everything together for the family and beyond.

Over time, this way of relating can become so automatic that we no longer ask ourselves whether it is ours to carry.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being a tagasalo. In fact, it often comes from love and a deep sense of responsibility. It can be a deeply meaningful and fulfilling role to play.

But when we begin carrying every burden without pause or discernment, we risk becoming exhausted, burned out, and even resentful.

This is why I distinguish between two kinds of tagasalo.

🔹The ‘compulsive tagasalo’ feels responsible for catching everyone, all the time. Helping becomes automatic, even at the expense of one’s own well-being.

🔸The ‘discerning tagasalo’, on the other hand, is guided by mindfulness and wisdom. They care deeply, but they also recognize that not every burden belongs to them. They know when to step in and when stepping back allows another person to grow.

The way to move forward is not to be less loving.
It is moving from being a compulsive tagasalo to a discerning one.

22/07/2026

📣 Catch Dr Olive Carandang on her radio guesting at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Radio DWDD!

With the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, they will discuss ways to protect our children and families from online threats. We support our partners from the AFP and PNP in strengthening awareness and resilience in Filipino families ✨

Handog ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), sa pamamagitan ng Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), katuwang ang MLAC Institute for Psychological Services Inc. at ang Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG), narito muli ang isang makabuluhan at napapanahong talakayan tungkol sa banta ng Digital World. Inaanyayahan ang lahat na makinig sa Health Camp segment sa AFP DWDD 1134 kHz AM, o manood nang live sa Facebook, at YouTube para sa episode na pinamagatang:

"The Modern Family Crisis: Cyber Threats and Digital Vulnerabilities"

Makibahagi sa mahalagang talakayan tungkol sa mga banta sa digital na mundo at alamin ang mga praktikal na paraan upang maprotektahan ang ating mga anak, pamilya, at komunidad laban sa cyber threats.

Sama-sama nating pangalagaan ang ating mga pamilya sa digital na panahon at isulong ang ligtas, responsable, at mapanuring paggamit ng teknolohiya para sa isang mas matatag na AFP Community at mas ligtas na bansa.

21/07/2026

📣 FBLive on July 31, 2026, 9AM!

With incidents of youth and school-based violence increasing alarmingly in the Philippines, it can sometimes be easier to succumb to panic and paranoia. This issue, however, calls for a systemic probing to shed light on how we, as adults, can best protect our children, families, and communities from harm.

On Friday, July 31st, at 9:00 AM, tune in to our page for a LIVE discussion with Drs. Honey and Chris Carandang on how we can protect our children from violence online and offline.

We look forward to interacting with you there. The comments section will be open to your thoughts and questions. We hope that we can share a safe and meaningful space as we deepen our understanding of our responsibilities as caregivers in the digital age.

Follow and like our page: MLAC Institute for Psychosocial Services, Inc. to be notified. Please feel free to share with members of your community who might find this helpful.

15/07/2026

Trauma Truth | Episode 4

Today’s truth:

Finding meaning in the painful event is necessary for recovery.

One of the most powerful parts of recovery is finding meaning in our painful experiences.

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl believed that while we cannot always choose what happens to us, we can choose the meaning we give to our experiences. As human beings, we do not live on food and water alone. We also live on meaning. Meaning helps us endure suffering without letting suffering define us.

Finding meaning does not mean that what happened was good, fair, or meant to happen.

Rather, it means asking:

Why did this happen to me?

How has this experience changed me?

What has it taught me?

How can I use my pain to bring compassion, wisdom, or hope to others?

Sometimes the deepest wounds become the place from which we learn to love more deeply, serve more generously, and live more intentionally! We begin to realize we can create space in our story - even for pain. But it never has to be the end of it. 🌿