Virgilio Enriquez | |
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| Born | November 24, 1942 Balagtas, Bulacan, Philippines |
| Died | August 31, 1994 (aged 51) San Francisco, California, United States |
| Other names | Doc. E, Ver |
| Occupation(s) | Professor, Pioneer of Sikolohiyang Pilipino |
| Known for | Father of Filipino Psychology, "Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino" |
Virgilio G. Enriquez (November 24, 1942 – August 31, 1994), also known as Doc E, was a social psychologist and the Father of Filipino psychology "Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino". He was born on November 24, 1942, at Santol, Balagtas, formally Bigaa, Bulacan. He was the youngest of five children born to Arsenio Libiran Enriquez and Rosario Galvez Gaspar. He was the founder of the Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino, (corporate name: National Association for Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Inc.).
Through his efforts and discoveries, the concept of psychology has gradually been acknowledged by more people in the Philippines and other non-western cultures. The research model he used provided valuable information on culture-as-target and culture-as-source approach which have a tremendous influence in regulating practical applications.[1] Before Enriquez, the study of psychology in the Philippines was not productive due to a language barrier; a large amount of psychological literature from Western history was only available in English. Enriquez's work inspired Filipino researchers with the concept of Western research methods in psychology and has broadened the view of cross-cultural psychology.
Filipino psychology remains a controversial topic. From the perspective of future development, Filipino psychology will pay more attention to individual and feminist treatments. The current therapeutic methods given in Filipino psychology are more group-oriented instead of individual-based thus individual patients will not receive precise treatments and follow-up diagnosis corresponding to their conditions. There is still an issue of unstandardized testing instruments in terms of therapeutic techniques which lack proper regulations.[1] In spite of its imperfections, the growth of Filipino psychology has contributed to the increased social acceptance for psychological disorders and initiative for seeking effective treatments.