Pagbabago: Transforming Silences to Solutions

Mabuhay!

With great honor and excitement, you are invited to the 2025 Asian American Psychological Association’s Division on Filipinx Americans conference and Division on Filipinx Americans’ 15th anniversary. Their theme, “Pagbabago: Transforming Silences into Solutions,” is not just a title but a call to action that reflects our shared commitment to growth, healing, and community. This conference will take place on Saturday, January 25th, and Sunday, January 26th, 2025, in the green, laid-back, and friendly city of Davis, California – the bicycle capital of the United States! As we gather for our DoFA Conference at Davis, California we also want to acknowledge that we will be entering the land that has been the home of the Patwin people. The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. It has been cherished and protected, as elders have instructed the young through generations. We are honored and grateful to have the opportunity to have our DoFA 2025 conference on their traditional lands.

In this year’s gathering, we aspire to engage in conversations that illuminate both the strength and resilience that define our Filipinx American culture, as well as the challenging, often hidden truths of mental health that negatively impact many of us. In this conference, we aim to create a brave and supportive space where we can confront not only the celebrated parts of our Filipinx/o/a identities but also the experiences that can be harder to discuss and voice.

To further appreciate the meaning behind our DoFA 2025 theme, we offer the deconstruction of its essence:

• “Pagbabago” is a Tagalog word meaning “transformation” or “change,” which aligns with the idea of addressing sensitive topics and creating positive change in the Filipinx/o/a mental health field.
• “Transforming Silences” refers to bringing Filipinx/o/a taboo, forbidden, prohibited or unspoken issues into the open for discussion and resolution.
• “Solutions” emphasizes the innovative, futuristic, revolutionary as well as practical approaches to addressing these Filipinx/o/a mental health challenges.

They welcome mental health and psychology researchers, clinicians, academicians, educators, historians, practitioners, engineers, artists, community organizers and activists to present innovative or practical interventions, research findings/experiences, and decolonized or culturally appropriate and traditional methods to inform further, expand, and advance understanding of and access to Filipinx/o/a mental health. They are especially eager to hear and learn from those whose work and passion align with our convention’s theme, as together, we aim to foster a more inclusive, collaborative and informed approach to Filipinx/o/a mental health care.

This conference is more than just an invitation. It’s a haven, a sanctuary where we can go beyond discussions of Filipinx/o/a racial identity/formation and step into much-needed dialogues about trauma, hardships, unspoken intersectional identities and global and political events that disturb our Filipinx/o/a identities and way of being in our daily lives. These are the conversations we might tend to shy away from at family gatherings and potlucks or struggle with in the privacy of our hearts. Yet, in this space, we can transform those silences into moments of understanding, connection and healing. Let’s come together, with courage and hope, to begin building the mental health solutions our Filipinx/o/a community deserves.