WSU Extension voucher program helps farmers access mental health counseling

Farming is stressful. A WSU Extension program is providing help for farmers to deal with that stress.

Washington’s Free Therapy Voucher Program offers farmers access to six, free, online sessions with a trained psychologist. To get help call the WSU psychology clinic at (509) 335-3587 and ask about receiving services voucher program.

“We’re looking for things we can do to reduce suicides related to agriculture,” said Don McMoran, director of WSU Extension in Skagit County, where the voucher program originated. He said three suicides, from people working in agriculture, took place in Skagit County between 2016 and 2019.

The program provides up to six vouchers for appointments that will take place online or via telephone.

“It’s completely anonymous,” said Conny Kirchhoff, a psychologist with Washington State University providing sessions for farmers. Because of the online nature of the program, sessions can take place while a farmer is taking a break from work, or taking lunch, or meet from their car. Sessions can take place anywhere they have access to a cell phone and Zoom meeting.

Meeting via Zoom enriches the session. “There’s something to be said about seeing somebody and talking with somebody,” Kirchhoff said.

She said the issues farmers and growers vary depending on the size and type of farm, but a common theme is financial difficulties.

For example, farmers based in the Puget Sound involved with agritourism are seeing fewer people from Canada visiting while other farmers are seeing the effects of federal administration changes and tariffs.

There are other issues too, Kirchhoff said. Farmers are having fewer workers on the farm; there are succession issues when children don’t want to go into agriculture as well as issues if a farmer separates from a partner.

Farmers often live a secluded life with few social interactions. Farming is a physically tough, and many are in communities where the infrastructure dies out.

She also hears from farmers saying when they used to have a bad year, it would be followed by a good year. Now they are experiencing a couple of bad years together.

“This is more of a work that is very connected to identity,” Kirchhoff said of farmers who care for the land and care for animals. “Giving that up is really, really difficult.”

The Washington State Department of Agriculture acknowledged a crisis in the mental health of farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers in the state, according to a study that was released in June 2025 and highlighted risks farmers face.

Washington state lost 3,717 farms between 2017-2022, according to the USDA agriculture census.

The decline of farms highlights the vulnerability of the agriculture sector, according to the study “Mental Health and Suicide Prevention for Agriculture Producers and Workers.” Farmers can be overwhelmed navigating governmental and grant programs that require time and education. Navigating the bureaucratic complexity diverts resources from operations, which is another risk factor farmers face.

The study also noted that agriculture is demanding physically and psychologically, agriculture workers have a stigma against seeking mental health services and they are a hard-to-reach population.

“It’s really our upbringing,” McMoran, who also has a farming background, said. “We’re taught at a young age to bite your bottom lip, suck it up and get the job done.”

He added that it’s been a challenge to get people in agriculture to use the voucher program. Over the past three years, 25 participants have used the voucher program.

“The response is to give it to someone who can really use it,” McMoran said of people’s reaction of the mental health program.

Kirchhoff said farmers are resource as they learn about the soil, grow crops, raise animals and fix machines. “They do have a lot of knowledge, but they rely on themselves.”

She added that it’s important for people to start talking about mental health, which is an issue that is affecting everyone, whether they are a farmer or not.

Both McMoran and Kirchhoff said they are trying to get the word out about the voucher program and continue working to decrease the stigma associated with talking about mental health.

Kirchhoff added students at the clinic are trained to be culturally aware of issues that are related to farmers and work with them in a meaningful way.