Cat Triviño and the Work of Being Well

In a world where the grind never stops, Cat Triviño hit pause. “I really thought that hustling my way through my feelings, through tiredness, through whatever it is I was going through, would be the ultimate solution,” she says. But instead of joy, the finish line was burnout. “It only made me feel more empty, more alone.”

That experience became the blueprint for MindNation, the mental health platform she co-founded to help others access what she couldn’t find at the time: support, healing, and a culture that doesn’t confuse exhaustion for excellence.

Shaira Luna

Triviño wasn’t always a believer in therapy. At one point, she actively avoided it. “I had thought that that was going to make me less of who I am,” she says. And even when she finally reached out for help, the barriers were staggering.

“At that time, I could only get a session after two to three months of waiting time, and it was about three to four thousand pesos per hour,” she recalls. “There are some rates that are still the same, and some waiting times that are still the same, because we have less than 2,000 psychologists in the Philippines, less than 1,000 psychiatrists. And even the thought of medication—it’s very expensive and inaccessible.”

Instead of accepting that status quo, she decided to change it. She connected with two co-founders: Kana Takahashi, with a background in psychology, and Monique Ong, with experience in tech and business. “They’ve been wonderful partners throughout this journey,” she says. “We’ve been doing MindNation for five years now, and it was a bittersweet launch. We introduced MindNation to the public just a month before the lockdown. So if the lockdown happened in March of 2020, we had already been talking about it and introducing it as early as January, February of that year. And of course, developing the brand even the year before. So it’s been a long journey, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Today, MindNation offers 24/7 teletherapy, workplace trainings, and mental health “micro-experiences” that reframe wellness as both proactive and practical. “We break it down into packages that seem like you’re just attending another spa treatment,” she says. Even an eight-minute conversation, she insists, can be powerful.

Shaira Luna

“We can no longer keep thinking of mental health as something that is a ‘nice-to-have.’ It should be part of your hygiene.”

But for all the innovation, Triviño’s message remains radically simple: Therapy is not a luxury. “We can no longer keep thinking of mental health as something that is a ‘nice-to-have’,” she says. “It should be part of your hygiene.”

And in a country where therapy is often wrapped in shame or seen as indulgent, change has to start with trust. “One of the biggest things when it comes to stigma is the uncertainty of what’s going to happen during a therapy session,” she explains. During the pandemic, MindNation partnered with local government units and Senator Risa Hontiveros to make therapy free and immediate. “That was one of the biggest icebreakers,” she recalls. It demystified what therapy actually is—a space for processing, regulation, and growth.

For Triviño, the work is also deeply personal. Diagnosed with major depressive disorder while working a high-pressure corporate job, she faced the very barriers MindNation is now working to dismantle. “I’m the eldest daughter in a conservative and somewhat religious family. Mental health was never something we even talked about,” she says.

Shaira Luna

But naming emotions, she says, is a first step to reclaiming power. And resilience, she believes, has to be redefined. “It’s about pacing,” she explains. “There are times we do have to feel sad and recognize our emotions… When we’re being resilient, it’s about us being able to acknowledge them as truth, while also being able to work on whatever healthy coping mechanisms we need.”

In Cat Triviño’s world, empowerment starts when you stop pretending you’re fine—and decide, finally, that your healing is worth the effort.

Photographer: Shaira Luna. Makeup: Lala Flores. Hair: Cats del Rosario. Styling: Joy Bernardo and Jolo Bayoneta of StyLIZed Studio. Clothing: Ditta Sandico Sculpted Hand-Draped Corset. Yong Studio Viera Top in Cream. Max Mara Rauce Trousers. Tiffany & Co. Tiffany T T1 Narrow Hinged Bangle in Yellow Gold, Tiffany T T1 Narrow Diamond Hinged Bangle in Yellow Gold, Tiffany Lock Bangle, and Tiffany Hardwear Large Link Earrings in Yellow Gold.