Have you heard of the Usap Tayo study? The Center for Healthy Minds (CHM) community and guests learned about this collaborative study with CHM researchers and community partners during a talk held at the Center in Madison, WI, in December 2025.

Community partners from global non-profit FilExcellence, which fosters connections and promotes advocacy for the global Filipino community, included Matthew Veland, treasurer and director of development, and Chelsea Blake, director of partnerships.

Chelsea and Matthew presented about the practice of kuwentuhan, where community members co-generate knowledge and mutual understanding around specific topics (culture, politics, lived experiences, etc.) through storytelling. They gave the historical background of the kuwentuhan practice and its place within indigenous Filipino psychology, as well as demonstrating how they use it in the Usap Tayo study to meaningfully engage with Filipino community members across all ages and backgrounds.

The Usap Tayo team and community partners present at Center for Healthy Minds in December 2025. Photos by Isabella Toledo

Alongside community partners at Filexcellence, Center for Healthy Minds researchers Tony DelaRosa, Dr. Hadley Rahrig and Dr. Christy Wilson-Mendenhall work on the Usap Tayo study, which aims to promote wellbeing in Filipino American communities using methods grounded in Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Indigenous Filipino Psychology). “Usap Tayo" is a Tagalog phrase meaning "Let's talk”.

The session ended with a reflection on how community-engaged research can potentially affect policy that truly centers the wellbeing of marginalized communities.

Looking forward, the Usap Tayo team will present their research at the 2026 Association for Asian American Studies Conference in Hawaii in April.

To contact the Usap Tayo study team to learn more, please email usaptayostudy@chm.wisc.edu.