By Derco Rosal
At A Glance
- As half of Filipinos cite cost as a barrier to accessing mental health care, nearly three in four would resort to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to manage their mental health, according to AXA Global Healthcare.
With half of Filipinos citing cost as a barrier to professional mental health care, nearly three in four are resorting to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to manage their condition, according to AXA Global Healthcare.
AXA’s 2026 Mind Health Report, published on Wednesday, Oct. 14, shows that where formal care is costly, people routinely forgo professional support, relying instead on digital self-management. AXA noted that this reliance is most pronounced in the Philippines.
“This relationship is playing out most strongly in the Philippines, where respondents are the second most likely to cite cost as a barrier to mental health care, and the most likely to self-manage a current condition,” the global health insurer stated.
“[Filipinos] are also regular users of digital self-help tools,” AXA added. “This picture is consistent with the correlation that where cost barriers are high, people are more likely to lean on self-directed or tech-enabled management of their mental health rather than seek professional support.”
Of the 18 countries surveyed, the Philippines ranked among the highest for cost-driven care avoidance. Mexico led at 50 percent, closely followed by the Philippines at 49 percent, Brazil at 39 percent, and the United States at 38 percent. By contrast, significantly fewer respondents cited cost in Turkey (17 percent), the United Kingdom (16 percent), and Germany (15 percent).
The steep financial barrier facing Filipinos reflects a broader downturn in global psychological well-being. Alain Zweibrucker, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Health Business and Health International, noted that global mental health metrics have fallen to their lowest point in over five years.
“Almost half of the population in our latest Mind Health Study are not doing well mentally, and for the second consecutive year, almost a third are living with a mental health condition,” Zweibrucker said.
With professional consultations financially out of reach for many, AI has stepped into the breach. Dr. Anne Lepetit, Chief Medical Officer at AXA Health Business, observed that digital adoption has reached critical momentum, particularly across Asian markets where AI usage for mental health concerns has crossed 80 percent in certain regions.
“This is no longer an emerging trend. It is a healthcare reality,” Lepetit noted.
However, the report warns of an “accessibility paradox,” where continuous digital access can breed misplaced trust and lead individuals to replace qualified medical care with automated outputs.
“While AI offers an always-on avenue to mental health support, these findings highlight how its limitless accessibility could actually be more problematic than helpful,” AXA stated.
AXA found that frequent AI users were 2.5 times more likely to trust chatbots over licensed mental health professionals, with nearly three in 10 reporting that chatbot advice led them to harmful behaviors.
Workplace strain remains a major driver of this crisis. Seventy-two percent of employees reported experiencing daily effects from work-related stress, including sleep disruptions, mood shifts, and physical health issues.
The survey was conducted jointly with Ipsos France in the first quarter of 2026, sampling 19,000 respondents across 18 countries, including the Philippines, Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Turkey, Brazil, and the United States.
