SaskAgMatters Network delivers mental health services for producers
Communications Consultant, Regina
A relatively new agricultural mental health network, SaskAgMatters, was announced at Canadian Western Agribition in November 2022, developed through research being conducted with the Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
“We’ve come a long way in the last 10 years, but we need to do more than talk, we need to deliver and that’s what SaskAgMatters is trying to do,” said codirector Cynthia Beck.
SaskAgMatters was started by a group of individuals in the agriculture industry who are also part of the research and mental health provision worlds where they identified a need.
The service provides six free one-hour counselling sessions to Saskatchewan producers and their immediate family members with the support of funds from private donors.
Beck said the goal is to bridge the gap and decrease barriers identified through research to be a hinderance for producers seeking mental health services.
“A lot of times what occurs for producers in rural or isolated areas, if they do reach out for mental health supports to their local providers, it’s very likely that they’re related to someone who’s in the office or they know someone who is in the office, so there’s increased concerns for lack of confidentiality and anonymity,” explained Beck.
Beck earned a Master of Science (MSc) in clinical psychology while doing thesis research work with the University of Regina’s Online Therapy Unit tailoring an online program to the agriculture population.
With SaskAgMatters, the service is completely confidential, an aspect Beck describes as “unique” and “so important in our agricultural climate.”
Individuals looking to access the services can see mental health providers on the SaskAgMatters website, choose one they think could be a good fit for them, and contact the practitioner directly. In addition to confidentiality, those who state they are with SaskAgMatters are seen for services sooner than being placed on a lengthy waitlist.
Beck said typically when producers reach the point of reaching out for help, they need it now rather than a few months later after being on a waitlist.
“In the farming world, that could mean your appointment is being scheduled into a high-production season if it’s two or three months down the road, and producers won’t follow through with that because it’s unrealistic and difficult for them to be leaving the farm during a high production season.”
A producer herself, part of multigeneration mixed cattle and grain farming operation near Milestone, Sask. with her husband, Beck said the producer population is one that is near and dear to her heart.
For years Beck volunteered with suicide response in her local area and said over 90 per cent of those who reached out for support were farmers.
She said those on the line felt comfortable talking to her because she had an understanding of their world as a producer.
Backed by research investigating farm culture, producers have a perception that providers who don’t have an agricultural background are perceived as less credible and less effective than providers who do.
“That’s an important piece for us in the service delivery through SaskAgMatters, we really want to make sure that our providers, our clinicians, have either an agricultural background, upbringing or that they actually have a firm grasp on agricultural knowledge,” explained Beck.
Beck works alongside her co-director Sharalee Laventure, research lead Dr. Michelle Pavloff and a team of researchers, producers, and industry representatives to make the service a useful resource for producers.
Both Pavloff and Laventure also have an agricultural background. Pavloff lives with her family on a ranch in rural Saskatchewan and is the research chair of rural health at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. She is also the principal investigator of the FARMh Initiative.
Laventure was born and raised on a mixed farm west of Biggar, Sask. She was looking for something positive after her youngest brother died by suicide, and she joined FARMh so she can make a difference in producers’ lives with mental health supports designed by them.
“It takes a community to help support a person and that’s what we’re seeing with SaskAgMatters,” said Beck, adding that community reaches further than their team to include producers themselves, mental health providers and agricultural industry partners. The team at SaskAgMatters Network is working to grow that community by adding more clinicians to the network as well as collaborate with other provincial and national organizations to disperse research and resources.
On the website, those seeking help are also pointed towards a number of other resources, such as the Saskatchewan Farm Stress Line, the Crisis Suicide Helpline and the Online Therapy Unit, to better connect producers with the resource that best suits their needs.
Beck said SaskAgMatters isn’t trying to be a “one stop shop” and doesn’t feel the need to overlap existing programs. In the future, the team is hoping to add a peer group to their programming where producers can support producers.
SaskAgMatters is gathering private donations so they can continue to provide free sessions to producers and their families. To find more, visit the SaskAgMatters website.