Stories

Facing increased demand for behavioral health services, agencies in at least 28 states have been looking to Iowa for advice on the problem. A federal program designed to address the rural mental health crisis nationwide has been authorized by Congress, but hasn’t been funded.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — An audible and collective groan of disbelief and frustration emanated from rural behavioral health professionals gathered here earlier this week for a regional conference, when they learned that both houses of Congress passed agriculture appropriations bills that did not include funding for a stress assistance network geared toward farm and ranch families.

It was one of those things that happen when two strangers discover a piece of common ground and strike up a conversation.
Dr. Jeffrey Leichner, a psychologist and a founding member of the Minnesota Consortium for Advanced Rural Psychology Training, recently attended a National Association of Rural Mental Health conference in New Mexico and by chance [...]

In northern Minnesota, a small group of local behavioral health specialists have created a post-doctorate program that is not only establishing a pipeline of providers to rural communities; it is enhancing the way existing agencies and providers interact for the betterment of an entire region.