Free mental health counselling for farmers at AgQuip

Tamworth Centracare physiologist Matthew Milne has lost count of the number of times he’s heard a farmer say that sentence after they’ve had a session.

Mr Milne will be at AgQuip next week, offering free psychology and counselling services for people on the land, thanks to a state government initiative to make sure farmers struggling with the drought can access the help they need.

“People have this preconceived idea about what psychology involves – they think it’s laying down and telling me about their childhood,” Mr Milne said.

“It’s actually really casual. It doesn’t have to be all about the feelings, it can just be about the situation, and giving people strategies to help people get through the day.”

Mr Milne said while some people liked coming in for a session because it gave them a chance to get off the farm, others were flat out feeding stock and didn’t time.

“That presents a real barrier, but that’s OK because we’re flexible,” he said.

“I’ve been tossing hay off the back of a ute while talking to someone – the help is happening there and they don’t even realise at the time.”

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said he pushed hard for the free service, which will be located at the Nationals’ tent at AgQuip.

“We understand the critical importance of providing mental health support for rural and regional people in this unprecedented drought,” Mr Anderson said.

“Having a person with these skills means we can deliver walk-in or without referral psychology and counselling services to visitors to the site.

“It’s really important we look after our people and them with their resilience and wellbeing.

“They need to know they are not alone.”

Centacare New England North West’s CEO Fergus Fitzsimons said the AgQuip initiative provided a soft approach to the subject.

 “It gives our farming communities at AgQuip another avenue to access counselling services,” Mr Fitzsimons said.

“Some may not want to talk on the day, some may not want to talk on the day, but our staff will do the follow-up and work out what is the best service we can provide to them in the future.”