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Mikko De Vera - Psychologist, Bayombong (2026)

16/10/2026

𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭.

With the recent issue involving a podcast that mocked a person with special needs, what bothered me most, aside from the pain it caused the person and the disability community, was this:

How did no one in the team think that what was said should not be aired?

Yes, we all make mistakes. But some mistakes can be prevented when the people around us are willing to speak up.

A co-host could have use the opportunity to inform the others (not just call out then crack a joke). The video editor could have recommended cutting that part. The producer could have decided not to upload the episode.

At different stages, someone could have asked: Is this something we should be putting out into the world?

This speaks a lot about the kind of people in their team.

And that got me thinking.

We need people around us who don't just support us when we're right, but also correct us when we're wrong.

People who challenge our assumptions. People who remind us of our responsibilities. People who help us see what we might have missed.

I was reminded of this yesterday when Jaira, our psychometrician, suggested that we give something to SPED centers after I shared the needs raised by teachers during our recent assessments.

My mother also encouraged me to develop a program for them. The office was supportive, too.

Honestly, I may not have thought of this initiative on my own, at least not at that moment. I was thinking then that I should focus on writing because I need to submit the results on time.

But the people around me helped me see an opportunity to do something meaningful with what we had learned.

And that's the kind of team I want to keep building.

A team that doesn't just help me accomplish things, but helps me become more thoughtful about what we do and why we do it.

The right people don't simply make our work easier. They help us become better at it.

In the same way, accountability isn't just about pointing out what went wrong after the damage has been done. It's also about having the courage to speak up before it happens.

So surround yourself with people who can call you out.

And more importantly, become someone who is willing to call others out with respect, courage, and good intentions. 💙

14/10/2026

𝐖𝐄’𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓-𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍

My office is looking for a project-based psychometrician to join our team for an upcoming project!

💙 Who are we looking for?

• Licensed Psychometricians
• Individuals who enjoy working with children
• Professionals who want to gain hands-on experience in clinical and developmental psychology
• Applicants residing in Nueva Vizcaya only

📅 Project Duration: October–November 2026

This is an opportunity to gain practical experience in a child-focused setting and contribute to meaningful psychological assessment work.

📩 How to apply:
Send your updated CV and cover letter to:
[email protected]

If you know a psychometrician who might be interested, feel free to share this opportunity with them!

**𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞!

12/10/2026

“𝐃𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐃𝐇𝐃 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐠-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬?”

Kapag ang bata ay hyperactive, iniisip ng marami na baka marami siyang energy kaya kailangan bawasan muna ito upang makapag-focus.

Hindi man ito dahil sa sobrang energy ay maaring may koneksyon pa rin ang physical activities dito.

May dalawang pagaaral na maaring sumuporta sa paniniwalang nakakatulong ang physical activity sa executive-function skills.

A 2025 meta-analysis by Li and colleagues examined 19 studies on physical activity interventions involving school-aged children with ADHD.

Napagalaman nila na ang physical activity ay may koneskyon sa improvements ng ilang executive functions, particular ang:

• Working memory — the ability to hold and use information while doing a task.

• Cognitive flexibility — the ability to shift between tasks, rules, or ways of thinking.

Another 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examined 16 randomized controlled trials involving 685 children with ADHD.

Nakita nila ang improvement sa inhibitory control at working memory pagkatapos ng exercise interventions (Liu et al., 2025).

So, movement may do more than help children use their energy. It may also support skills involved in managing attention and behavior.

Ngunit mahalagang tandaan ang sumusunod.

Hindi ibig sabihin na kailangang pagurin ang bata hanggang maubos ang energy niya.

Hindi rin ibig sabihin na sapat na ang exercise para ma-treat and ADHD. At hindi lahat ng bata ay pare parehong makikinabang dito.

Movement breaks, outdoor play, dancing, swimming, sports, and other enjoyable physical activities can be incorporated into a child's routine, depending on their interests and needs.

References
Li, D., Miao, C., Wang, D., & Li, C. (2025). Effect of physical activity interventions on executive functions in school-age children with ADHD: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders, 378, 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.155

Liu, R., Wen, Z., Han, D., & Wang, J. (2025). Effects of exercise interventions on executive function in school-aged children with ADHD: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 25, Article 3265. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24335-2

10/10/2026

World Mental Health Day 💚

Part of healing is revisiting our identity. Rediscovering who we are beyond our responsibilities, expectations, and the roles we play in other people's lives.

One interesting question shared by Dr. Alignay in the first episode of the Love Yourself Too Movement podcast was:

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝?”

I love this because, sometimes, our childhood interests remind us of the things we enjoyed simply because they made us happy.

Before we worried about being productive, meeting expectations, or proving ourselves, there were things we did just because we loved doing them.

Perhaps revisiting these interests can help us reconnect with parts of ourselves we have neglected along the way.

09/10/2026

I didn’t know that the Love Yourself Too Movement started with an idea from a client. 💚

I had been working with him for about a year when he shared kind words about how his journey inspired him to help others. He told me about his plans to build a platform where people with stories like his could be heard.

With the help of SMLC Behavioral Therapy, Inc. - Main Page, that idea began to take shape.

And now, the first episode of the podcast is out. There’s a movement, a community, and a room full of people who believe in the same advocacy.

Honestly, it still feels surreal.

The most meaningful moment for me was finally meeting him in person for the first time and witnessing something that started as an idea become real.

As a psychologist, we often see people during some of the most difficult chapters of their lives.

Their stories don’t end there.

Sometimes, the experiences they once struggled with become the very reason they want to help others.

06/10/2026

𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢 𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐨 𝐬𝐚 𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐨.

Historically, psychiatry needed a more standardized way of describing and communicating about patterns of symptoms and functioning among patients in facilities and veteran soldiers.

Imagine different clinicians describing the same patient in completely different terms.

Mahirap mag-usap.
Mahirap mag-research.
Mahirap magturo.
At mahirap magplano ng treatment.

So diagnostic systems evolved to give professionals a common language.

Eventually, by the third edition of the diagnostic manual, they prioritized classifications, checklist-style, and rigid scoring.

This was important then for things like medical records, insurance claims, research, and health systems.

Kinailangan nilang malaman kung sino ang makakatanggap ng benepisyo at kung sino ang natutulungan ng mga bagong forms of intervention.

Kinailangan magkaroon ng malinaw na definition. Ngunit nagkaroon din ng impression ang marami na fixed ang symptoms na dapat makita sa tao para magkaroon ng diagnosis.

Tandaan na simula pa lang ay para na sa communication ang purpose ng diagnosis.

The diagnosis describes a clinical pattern useful for clinicians.

It does not describe the entire person.

A person is not their diagnosis. 💙

03/10/2026

“𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧. 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐬𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐤 𝐤𝐨?”

Valid question.

Kapag speech ang concern, iniisip ng marami na speech exercises lang ang magiging focus ng therapy.

Pero language development doesn't happen in isolation.

For a child to learn words, they need opportunities to pay attention to another person, share attention, engage with objects, and connect what they see or experience with language.

And interestingly, a 2026 longitudinal study of 122 children with autism found that early fine motor skills and joint attention were associated with later spoken-vocabulary development, particularly among children who started with smaller vocabularies. When combined with certain brain measures, these factors explained roughly half of the variability in vocabulary growth in the researchers' models.

Sa madaling sabi may malaking koneksyon ang social interaction at pagbibigay ng fine motor activities sa paglago ng vocabulary ng bata.

So when a therapist works on:

👀 Joint attention
✋ Fine motor skills
🧩 Play and engagement

we're working on the foundations that help make communication possible.

A good intervention and assessment looks beyond the presenting concern. 💙

Surgent, O., Naigles, L., Dakopolos, A., et al. (2026). Multimodal predictors of spoken vocabulary development in autism: The role of early childhood brain and behavior. Translational Psychiatry, 16, 436. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04168-2

30/09/2026

“𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧?”

Meron tayong misconception na dapat iwasan ang usapin ng su***de upang hindi ito maitanim sa isip ng bata.

Understandable naman ito. Napaka sensitibong usapin ng self-harm at hindi lahat ng nakatatanda ay handa para rito.

Ngunit kapag sinabi ng bata na ayaw na niyang mabuhay o nabanggit niya ang tungkol sa self-harm, huwag na natin i-dismiss o baguhin ang topic dahil malamang ito ay bumabagabag na sa isip niya.

Kapag narinig na ito subukan maging kalmado at maging direkta sa pagtanong tungkol sa kanyang nararamdaman, plano, at sitwasyon.

Kapag mas buo o detalyado ang sagot ay madalas mas seryoso ito.

Ang pagtatanong tungkol sa su***de ay hindi pag-uudyok.

Tulad din ng pagkakaroon ng Su***de Awareness Month. Hindi ito ginawa upang magtanim ng idea bagkus para mas maunawaan pa ito.

Maaari itong maging chance para malaman kung gaano nahihirapan ang isang bata at kung anong tulong ang kailangan niya.

Hindi rin kailangang tayo ang mag-solve ng problema.

Kailangan ay:

Makinig.

Manatiling kalmado.

Seryosohin ang sinabi niya.

Huwag siyang iwan mag-isa.

Humingi ng professional help.

Hindi lahat ng pagbanggit ng salitang su***de ay nangangahulugang may suicidal intent. Pero hindi rin natin dapat ipagwalang-bahala.

Hindi man natin alam kung ano talaga ang plano ng bata pero sigurado ako na ito ay isang "cry for help."

💙 Pinagkakatiwalaan niya tayo at tungkulin nating maramdaman niyang ligtas siyang magsabi sa atin.

27/09/2026

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 💙

One of the most refreshing takeaways from PAPCON 2026 was Dr. Angelie Bautista’s discussion of the Inflorescence Model of Su***de Recovery.

We often think of acceptance as something that comes later, after a person has processed the pain and started moving forward.

But the model offers a different perspective:

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

The first stage, Immersion (Pagkabaon), involves acknowledging one’s brokenness and vulnerabilities, with acceptance as the needed value.

Recovery then moves through stages of confronting pain, owning oneself, identifying life anchors, and eventually engaging more fully in one’s recovery.

Su***de recovery begins with having enough space to label our pains.

And from there, we begin to grow. 🌱

***deRecovery ***dePrevention

25/09/2026

𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 “𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.” — Dr. Arsenio Alianan

As clinicians, when clients ask how long will the treatment take, our default response is often: “It depends.”

And of course, psychotherapy is influenced by many factors. But this talk by Dr. Alianan at PAPCON 2026 reminded me that clients also need clarity and a roadmap.

One of the things that stood out to me was the 𝟏𝟖 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 principles and how these can help bridge an important gap between psychological assessment and actual intervention.

Assessment tells us a lot about the client but the next question is what we do with all this information.

Treatment selection should consider more than test scores. It also means looking at:

• barriers to treatment
• cultural considerations
• socioeconomic context
• client characteristics and responses
• possible resistance
• therapist–client fit
• appropriate treatment intensity and modality

For me, this is where assessment becomes more meaningful, not simply identifying what is happening, but helping create a roadmap for what happens next.

And perhaps instead of saying the convenient response, “it depends,” we can help clients understand what it depends on and where we are going from here.
💙

Mikko De Vera - Psychologist

16/10/2026

14/10/2026

12/10/2026

10/10/2026

09/10/2026

06/10/2026

03/10/2026

30/09/2026

27/09/2026

25/09/2026

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