I farmed for a living for about 12 years before I started the path to becoming a licensed professional counselor.  I felt compelled to write my new book, Farmers are People: A Revolutionary Insight into Farmer Suicide Risk, due to the extreme need of this group.  My approach to this problem is very different from most.

 

The mainstream approach to the epidemic problem of farmer suicide suggests that farmers are not people, and I state firmly that farmers are people in my new book that describes my revolutionary insight into farmer suicide risk.  

 

Movies, heroes, and farmers

Most of us like movies about heroes. We like seeing them face down their opponent, dig deep, and keep on striving. Usually, these scenes are full of action, danger, and urgency. Loads of adrenaline.
 

A therapy client, on the other hand, sets an appointment, shows up for it, and then without the clearly defined story arc of a movie, engages with the work, which is the battle for himself with the counselor as his ally and guide. He does all this without fanfare or the surge of energy from adrenaline. Usually, he does it without any clear idea at the beginning of which battle is going to be the one that matters most.

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Farmers are already showing the kind of diligence and discipline they need to succeed in therapy. They just use it for everything but themselves.