National Farmers Mental Health Alliance seeks to support farmers, rural social support systems

The newly formed National Farmers Mental Health Alliance (NFMHA) offers a way to help farmers get support that understands the unique lifestyle and circumstances of farming. 

“We’re combining real farm-lived experience with our professional practices and connections to develop agriculturally informed therapy training for on-the-ground social workers and therapists to serve farmers, their families and rural communities across Canada and the U.S.,” says Lauren Van Ewyk, a registered social worker, mental health advocate, Ontario sheep farmer and co-founder of the NFMHA. 

Why it matters: The new alliance aims to help professionals understand the intricacies of farming to better support farmer mental health.

Van Ewyk says that too often, farmers who seek professional mental health services have poor experiences and don’t continue because counsellors lack understanding about the context and impact of farm experiences.

“For example, a farmer sought help with a therapist because they were forced to sell their multi-generational farm and were having suicidal thoughts. Unfortunately, the professional advice was to save money to buy another farm. And for those of us who understand agriculture and the pressures of maintaining a multi-generational family farm, we know that advice was likely the last thing that farmer needed to hear.”

Focused therapy

In February, Van Ewyk and fellow co-founders Carrie Pollard and Libby Ells discussed the need to provide a practical approach to helping farmers. That quickly developed into the formation of the NFMHA. All three women are qualified mental health professionals and farmers, or were raised on multi-generational farms. They’ve developed an agriculture-specific mental health network that uses an agriculture-minded support model to counsel and train others to help farmers in need.

Focusing on three areas, the NFMHA offers ag-informed training to anyone who provides therapy and social support to farmers.

With an emphasis on helping professionals understand what farmers are facing, the group offers a 12+ hour program that includes supervision and case study application for professionals including social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, veterinarians, life coaches and faith-based groups.

The goal is to have representatives across Canada and the U.S. who are equipped to provide one-on-one counselling for farmers, their families and agricultural communities.

“We want farmers to be able to access therapists who understand the intricacies of agriculture,” says NFHMA co-founder Carrie Pollard, who is a mental health professional and a grain farmer. “We understand equipment breakdowns happen, or farmers can’t get out of the field because they are working against the weather, so we’re flexible and accommodating to the seasons and cycles of farming.”

The third focus is strengthening relationships and working with companies and organizations to provide ag-informed mental health training and services to staff, volunteers and members.

The group has conducted a series of training webinars with groups including AgSafe BC; Be Well, Work Well; Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington-Dufferin; Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners; and Olds College.

“We want to normalize the conversation. By training professionals to provide specialized support, we can grow the network of ag-informed therapists and counsellors to reach more farmers and their families,” says Van Ewyk.

Providing the right tools

“Generally, when farmers seek help, they are at or near a breaking point and require immediate assistance. Most are dealing with chronic stress, which can lead to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, or worse. And, given the family-oriented nature of farming, entire families can be affected,” says Van Ewyk.

Before the pandemic, 68 per cent of Canadian farmers reported chronic stress and Van Ewyk predicts that statistic has increased drastically.

“So, what’s going to happen 10 years from now if stress levels continue to climb and we don’t start having conversations or build coping strategies?”

According to Van Ewyk, if farmers are struggling, they are more likely to reach out to their own networks, like nutritionists, agronomists or veterinarians rather than seek professional help. Women are less likely to seek therapy because they tend to take care of others before themselves.

“Farming spouses deal with the same level of chronic stress, but will generally wait until their spouse has sought support before they prioritize themselves,” says Van Ewyk.

Farmers are resilient and have a high success rate if they’re able to implement the right strategies and tools. The challenge is to build a network of professionals who can understand what farmers face and can recommend healthy coping strategies.

“Thankfully, there are several organizations and programs that provide mental health support for farmers. However, the current need in the ag community is greater than the resources available. We’ve seen this personally and professionally and believe that what we’re doing is adding to these valuable resources,” says Pollard.

“We’re working to establish a first line of defence for farmers, their families and rural communities. And the response from the agricultural and mental health groups have been amazing.”

Raising awareness about the importance of mental health and reducing the stigma among the farming community has improved thanks to a variety of initiatives across Canada and the U.S. The next step for NFHMA is to provide ag-minded training to mental health professionals.

“The difference between NFMHA and other farmer mental health programs is that our group is a for-profit organization that offers a wide range of services – from one-on-one counselling provided by lived experiences, to ag-informed therapy training and resources for professionals and organizations to grow their understanding of ag mental health. We’re working to bridge the gap to foster an ag-minded mental health support system.”

Van Ewyk says the NFMHA is growing, with remarkable interest and uptake in its counselling and training programs.

“I think our emphasis on providing the training and tools to build a therapeutic alliance – how to relate and build relationships with farmers – is what’s really resonating with the groups we work with,” she says.

For more information, visit nfmha.ca.