Washington State University (WSU) has launched a critical initiative to offer free mental health assistance to farmers through the Farm Stress Counseling Voucher Program. This program, managed by WSU Skagit County Extension in collaboration with the WSU Psychology Clinic, delivers telehealth counseling sessions to farmers across Washington state, including those in the forestry and shellfish industries. The goal is to provide a vital mental health resource to those facing the unique stressors of agricultural life.
Key Details of the Program
The program offers six free telehealth sessions with licensed clinical psychologists or doctoral student trainees from WSU’s Clinical Psychology program. Each session is approximately 50–60 minutes and conducted via Zoom for flexibility, allowing farmers to schedule sessions at convenient times. The program is completely free for all farmworkers in Washington state.
Addressing the Stresses of Farming
Farming is consistently ranked as one of the most stressful professions in the United States, with workers frequently dealing with seasonal weather challenges, fluctuating commodity prices, and mechanical breakdowns. These pressures can lead to significant mental health struggles, including stress, anxiety, heart disease, and hypertension. Tragically, the agricultural industry also experiences one of the highest suicide rates of any profession.
WSU’s Farm Stress Counseling Voucher Program seeks to address these critical mental health needs by providing farmers with much-needed support before stress develops into more severe mental health crises.
A Collaborative Approach to Mental Health
Don McMoran, Director of WSU Skagit County Extension and head of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, emphasized the importance of providing mental health services in a way that resonates with the farming community. “Being able to provide services in a telehealth scenario and having providers throughout the West who can ‘speak farmer’ is very important,” McMoran said.
WSU’s efforts to tackle agricultural stress and suicide prevention are part of a broader initiative that began in 2018 when Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 2671. This bill funded the establishment of a pilot program to provide behavioral health support to farmworkers.
As part of this initiative, McMoran’s office brought together multiple resources to support farmers, including hiring agricultural economists to help farmers facing economic stress and launching the AgriSafe crisis support line (1-833-897-2474) that operates 24/7. The goal is to provide early intervention and prevent economic stress from escalating into a personal mental health crisis.
Overcoming Stigma and Creating Discreet Support
One of the challenges the program faces is the stigma surrounding mental health in the farming community. Farmers are often hesitant to seek help due to concerns about confidentiality and the perception of weakness. WSU’s program, however, has worked hard to offer sessions in a way that respects farmers’ need for privacy. Many sessions take place while farmers are on their tractors, in their cars, or in other private spaces where they feel safe and comfortable.
“We want farmers to feel that they can speak freely, so we make sure that sessions are as easy and discreet as possible,” said Conny Kirchhoff, a licensed psychologist managing the program. Kirchhoff has been working with farmers since the program’s inception and has seen firsthand the impact of providing tailored mental health services.
Training Future Mental Health Providers
The program not only provides immediate support for farmers, but it also trains future psychologists. As of 2024, WSU’s Psychology Clinic has started integrating advanced doctoral candidates into the program, giving them specialized education to better serve the agricultural community. These students learn the specific challenges and needs that farmers face, enabling them to become culturally sensitive providers for agricultural workers.
Plans for Future Expansion
WSU plans to expand the program in the future by accommodating more farmers seeking counseling and training additional doctoral students in agricultural mental health. There are also plans to incorporate Spanish-speaking telehealth providers to serve the state’s diverse farming population.
“We want to ensure that future providers are not only knowledgeable but culturally sensitive to the unique experiences of agricultural workers,” said Kirchhoff. With additional funding, the program aims to continue expanding its services, ensuring that more farmers have access to the mental health care they need.
Through initiatives like the Farm Stress Counseling Voucher Program, WSU is playing a pivotal role in addressing the mental health crisis within the agricultural industry, providing farmers with crucial support at a time when they need it most.
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