The Tragedy of The Lack of Mental Health Care in Rural America

Photo by Alex Iby on Unsplash

If you are depressed or suicidal in rural America, you are in deep trouble. There are only a few mental health providers in your area and those few are less qualified and may not be helpful to you at all.

With suicide on the rise among farmers and people living in rural communities, something must happen to not only hire therapists and psychiatrists but to keep them once they settle into their new positions.

We are going to take a look at the tragedy of the lack of mental health providers in rural America.

Suicides are on the Rise in Rural America

There were 44,193 deaths in the United States from suicide in 2015, that is approximately one person dying every twelve minutes. While suicide is preventable, many people living in areas where mental health care is lacking or non-existent die far more often than those living in urban areas. (1)

The gap in death rates by suicide between urban and rural areas of the country is widening every year and became noticeable in 2007–2008. Experts put the blame on social isolation, the opioid epidemic, and, of course, the lack of mental health care.

The hardest-hit community appears to be farmers. According to a paper published in The Journal of Rural…