MLAC are the initials of clinical psychologist Ma. Lourdes “Honey” Arellano Carandang. They also stand for her favorite mantra: Mindfulness, Love And Compassion.

Five years ago, she and her team of psychologists organized the MLAC Institute for Psychosocial Services. Last year they launched the Parenting Academy to address issues and answer questions about Filipino parenting.

Encouraged by the success of that first conference, MLAC will hold a second one on Feb. 27, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Henry Sy Sr. Auditorium of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City.

Carandang will give the plenary talk on the theme “Parenting to Build Family Resilience.”

The conference will feature a symposium on fatherhood, with three generations of fathers as panelists. Deodato “Datu” Arellano, a visual artist and web developer, will share his experiences as father to three young boys. Jonny Salvador, the first lay headmaster of the Ateneo Grade School and dad to a 21-year-old and an 18-year-old, will discuss fatherhood as a continuous process of growth.

Jojo Sumpaico, a full-time farmer since retiring from corporate life, has four children and six grandchildren. An active parish volunteer, he will discuss the importance of faith in his twin roles as father and grandfather.

Another panel discussion will focus on three types of nontraditional families: those with adoptive and single parents, those with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) parents, and those where the wife and mother is an overseas worker.

The conference will also offer two workshops. The first, on cultivating resilience and happiness in children, will discuss inner life skills that parents can teach their children. The second, on tuning in to children’s emotions, will discuss how empathetic listening can lead to better parenting and healthy relationships with one’s children.

Guest speakers and members of the MLAC team of psychologists will conduct the workshops and panel discussions. They include Dr. Maria Caridad H. Tarroja, Dr. Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo, Dr. Joanna Herrera, Tessibeth Cordova, Ma. Blesila de Asis, Hannah Misha Morillo, Maria Teresa F. Aguilar, Rizason Go Tian-Ng and Ma. Fiona Ella Sandoval.

For inquiries and reservations, text tel. no. 0916-6821437; e-mail [email protected]; or visit mlacinstitute.com. Ticket prices are P2,000 for members of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP), P2,500 for non-PAP members and P1,000 for students.