Filipino 

psychopathology, or sikopatolohiya
in Filipino, from Spanish psicopatologia, is the
study of abnormal psychology in
the Filipino context. Several mental disorders
have been identified that culture-bound
WHAT IS FILIPINO syndromes, and can therefore be found only in
the Philippines or in other societies with
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY? which Filipinos share cultural connections.
 Filipino psychology is not anti-universal
  inasmuch as the ultimate aim of Sikolohiyang
Pilipino is to contribute to universal psychology,
which can be realized only if each group of
people is adequately understood by themselves
and from their own perspective.
 • University of the Philippines Sikolohiyang
Pilipino (Filipino psychology) refers to the
psychology born out of the experience,
thought and orientation of the Filipinos,
based on the full use of Filipino culture and
language. The approach is one of
‘‘indigenization from within’’ whereby the

What is the theoretical framework and methodology

emerge from the experiences of the people
from the indigenous culture. It is based on

Philippines
assessing historical and socio-cultural
realities, understanding the local language,
unraveling Filipino characteristics, and

Sikolohiyang
explaining them through the eyes of the
native Filipino. Among the outcomes are: a
body of knowledge including indigenous
concepts, development of indigenous

Pilipino? research methods and indigenous

personality testing, new directions in
teaching psychology, and an active
participation in organizations among
Filipino psychologists and social scientists,
both in the Philippines and overseas.
 • Defining Sikolohiyang Pilipino Enriquez’s most
significant contribution to the Sikolohiyang Pilipino
movement probably lies in clarifying what
Sikolohiyang Pilipino is. Without a clear definition, the
direction of the movement would not have been as
focused and solid. In his 1975 article on the bases of
Sikolohiyang Pilipino on culture and history (Enriquez,

Basic 1975) and a 1976 article on perspectives and

directions of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Enriquez, 1976), he
distinguished Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino

elements and
psychology) from Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas (psychology
in the Philippines – the general form of psychology in
the Philippine context) and Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino
(psychology of the Filipinos – theorizing about the

features of psychological nature of the Filipinos, whether from a

local or a foreign perspective). Enriquez searched the
Filipino culture and history for the bases of

Sikolohiyang Sikolohiyang Pilipino instead of tracing these back to

Western theories. He even looked beyond the textbook
definition of psychology as the study of behaviour and

Pilipino
thoughts to examine what psychology means for the
Filipinos. He came up with a definition of psychology
that takes into account the study of emotions and
experienced knowledge (kalooban and kamalayan),
awareness of one’s surroundings (ulirat), information
and understanding (isip), habits and behavior (another
meaning of diwa), and the soul (kaluluwa) which is the
way to learning about people’s conscience. (Enriquez,
1976)

•  
 • There are several areas where Sikolohiyang
Pilipino has been applied. Much of the early
work was focused on the use of the local
language in teaching, research and in the
conduct of various conferences and symposia
in Psychology. This development, in turn,
inspired the mass media to use the local
language in radio programs, talk shows and
other official events of local and national
Areas of importance to Philippine life and culture. This
further led to the popularity of inviting Flipino

applications
psychologists to talk shows to give some
insight on the relevance of Sikolohiyang
Pilipino to the various topics under discussion.

of
There were some attempts to formulate
appropriate techniques in therapy suited to
the Filipino personality. Bulatao (1978, cited in

Sikolohiyang Enriquez, 1992), for example, made the

following observations regarding counselling
in the Philippines: Filipinos are freer to be

Pilipino themselves when in a sympathetic group of

friends than in a one on one situation. When
supported by the group, Filipino clients prefer
paternalistic counsellors to non-directive ones
who are perceived to be detached and non-
caring. Filipino subjects are more susceptible
to hypnotic suggestions and enter into altered
states of consciousness more readily than
American subjects.
•Another area of application was in providing psychological help to children in especially difficult circumstances
such as children in situations of armed conflict, street children, prostituted children, etc. Pioneering efforts were
made by Elizabeth Protacio-Marcelino and her colleagues at the Children’s Rehabilitation Center. Their program
focused mainly on crisis intervention through treatment and rehabilitation of these traumatized children. It applied
the orientation of Sikolohiyang Pilipino by looking at the problem of the children at two levels. The first level
focused on the specific needs and problems of the individual child. The second level underscored the socio-
economic and political roots of the problem and their consequences on the child’s rights and welfare (Protacio-
Marcelino, 1985). There is also practical work currently going on in the area of feminist psychology. Using the same
principles of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, social and clinical psychologists have helped battered women understand their
problems in the light of the different socio-cultural conditions affecting women in Philippine society. Sikolohiyang
Pilipino has also been applied in industry particularly in the marketing of specific products and understanding
consumer behavior. Several multi-national 62 Rogelia Pe-Pua and Elizabeth Protacio-Marcelino ß Blackwell
Publishers Ltd with the Asian Association of Social Psychology and the Japanese Group Dynamics Association 2000
companies have contracted the PPRTH to train their personnel in this field. Companies have also become more
conscious of a management style that is appropriate and suited to Filipinos.

• 

• 
History

The roots of Filipino Psychology can be traced back to the

introduction of the American education system in the
Philippines. Agustin Alonzo was among the first Filipino
psychologists to return from their education in America (in
1925) to teach at the College of Education in the University of
Filipino Psychology emerged and grew as part of the
the Philippines. This team brought with them psychological
nationalist indigenization movement in the Philippines that
knowledge rooted in the American tradition of psychology.
was formalized in 1975.
Western psychology is taught in schools as universal and
scientific despite being generally considered by some as
insensitive and inappropriate to Philippine culture. This
hegemony of Western American Psychology is referred to as
Colonial Psychology.
• During the 1960s, many Filipino intellectuals and scholars were already aware of
the limitations and incompatibility of Western Psychology; western-oriented
approaches in research in particular, had led scholars to paint the Filipino through
the “judgmental and impressionistic views of the colonizers.”[1] It is with the use of
American categories and standards that “the native Filipino invariably suffers from
the comparison in not too subtle attempts to put forward Western behavior
patterns as models for the Filipino.”[2] Early efforts to correct the traditional way
of teaching and studying psychology in the 1960s include the translation of foreign
materials and the use of the Filipino language as a mode of instruction, however,
these efforts fail to address the problems brought about by colonial psychology as
these efforts were sparse and not collaborated upon by psychologists.
• It was only in the 1970s that a concerted effort to address colonial psychology in
the form of Filipino Psychology took place. Filipino Psychology, along with
advances in Filipinology and similarly History’s Pantayong Pananaw, was led by 
Virgilio Enriquez, Prospero Covar, and Zeus A. Salazar in the indigenization
movement of their respective fields.
Enriquez returned from his studies to the Philippines in 1971, and established the
Philippine Psychology Research House (now Philippine Psychology Research and
Training House, PPRTH). In 1975, the very first annual national conference on
Filipino Psychology was held by the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino
(PSSP) marking the formalization of Filipino Psychology.
Historical Threads of Philippine
Psychological Thought
In 1985, historian Zeus A.Salazar identified four different traditions upon
which Philippine psychology can be traced:
• Academic Scientific Psychology or Akademiko-siyentipikal na Sikolohiya: This follows
the American-oriented psychological tradition that can be traced back to Wilhelm Wundt
 in 1876. It was introduced in the Philippines through formal American education system
in universities.
• Academic Philosophic Psychology or Akademiko-pilosopiya na Sikolohiya: This was
started by priest-professors at the University of Santo Tomas during the 17th century
Spanish era. This tradition originally came from the writings of the preachers and monks
in philosophy and "pre-scientific" Spanish elites and would later join with the American-
oriented scientific psychology.
Ethnic Psychology or Taal na Sikolohiya: this is the Philippine indigenous psychology in the
sense that this includes the frame of psychological reasoning, enculturation practices,
beliefs, and proto-clinical practices that can be culled from language, literature, myths,
legends, etc. This also includes psychological systems worked out by Filipinos with Filipino
indigenous elements as basis (eg. Hermano Pule, Rizal, Isabelo de los Reyes, Kalaw, etc.) and
Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino (Psychology of the Filipino) as formulated by Virgilio Enriquez.
Psycho-medical Systems or Siko-medikal na mga Sistema: A psychological tradition that is
closely related to ethnic psychology. The psycho-medical tradition that has religion as the
basis and explanation. This includes the faith healing practices of the babaylan and the

katalonan. According to Salazar, he believes that “no real healing

 could take place if there were no common ideology or frame of reference… understood and
accepted by both healer and patient.” [3]

 
 Core value or Kapwa (shared inner self)

Kapwa is the core construct of Filipino Psychology. Kapwa has two

categories, Ibang Tao and Hindi Ibang Tao.

Basic • Ibang Tao ("outsider") There are five interaction levels under this category:
• Pakikitungo: civility – right behavior meant right demeanor towards authorities
(Parents, Elders, etc.).
• Pakikisalamuha: act of mixing – This is a social value that is primarily

Tenets
communitarian. It espouses the ability to adapt.
• Pakikilahok: act of joining – This translates to participation of the entire community
to help a person.
• Pakikibagay: conformity – This runs into conflict with individuality which many
Filipinos in fact willingly throw away in favor of conformity with demands of those
who are in charge.
• Pakikisama: being united with the group.
• Hindi Ibang Tao ("one-of-us") There are three interaction levels under this category:
• Pakikipagpalagayang-loob: act of mutual trust
• Pakikisangkot: act of joining others
• Pakikipagkaisa: being one with others
 • Filipino psychopathology, or sikopatolohiya in
Filipino, from Spanish psicopatologia, is the study
of abnormal psychology in the Filipino context.
Several mental disorders have been identified
that culture-bound syndromes, and can therefore
be found only in the Philippines or in other
societies with which Filipinos share cultural
connections. Examples of such are:

 Amok: Malayan mood disorder, more aptly called

"Austronesian Mood Disorder", in which a
person suddenly loses control of himself and
goes into a killing frenzy, after which he/she

Sikopatologiya
hallucinates and falls into a trance. After he/she
wakes up, he has absolutely no memory of the
event.
 Bangungot: A relatively common occurrence in
which a person suddenly loses control of his
respiration and digestion, and falls into a coma
 and ultimately to death.
• The person is believed to dream of falling into a
deep abyss at the onset of his death. This
syndrome has been repeatedly linked to
Thailand's Brugada syndrome and to the
ingestion of rice. However, no such medical ties
have been proven.