The rural mental health vision for the Mountain Plains MHTTC is to support increased access to providers of mental health services for the more than 60 million Americans living in rural communities. To achieve this, the Center develops and promotes training and technical assistance which supports the rural mental health workforce and reduces barriers to mental health treatment for rural residents.
The Center also recognizes that the agricultural community encounters unique challenges related to the accessibility, availability, and acceptability of mental health services. Specific training and resources have been developed to address mental health and suicide among agricultural workers farm managers/owners, and agricultural workers.
Healing Our Protectors: Building Resilience Among Tribal Law Enforcement Officers Through Cultural Interventions is a Mountain Plains MHTTC resource that serves behavioral health treatment providers in gaining a deeper understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their work as a law enforcement officer.
Farm stress is the stress experienced by farmers and their families due to the unique agricultural work environment. The global health pandemic has had a substantial effect on farm stress. Farming and ranching communities already dealing with high stress levels saw incidents of drug and alcohol abuse rapidly increase, as well as rising numbers of death by suicide.
This guide provides resources specific to screening for co-occurring disorders experienced by farmers, farmworkers and farm families in rural communities.
Voices from the Field is a seven-part blog series that focuses the reader on the spiritual, physical, and mental wellness of providers responding to the global health pandemic. In this series you will learn techniques that leaders and behavioral health providers have incorporated to address the needs of the people they serve. These stories also describe their efforts to support their own well-being. The series includes voices from leaders serving Region 8 states including Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.