Johanna Bakker, founder of the Renfrew-based clinic Mental Care
A recently expanded program is ensuring local farmers have access to therapy when they need it.
Johanna Bakker, founder of the Renfrew-based clinic Mental Care, says the federal and provincial governments’ decision to extend the Farmers Wellness Initiative to offer unlimited support for Ontario’s agriculture sector workers and their families provides a vital service to a notoriously hard-to-reach clientele.
Farmers are not required to be in therapy forever to take advantage of the service, but the initiative opens the door to care and services that weren’t always apparent in the past, an especially useful resource as outside factors create uncertain times in the world of agriculture.
She adds that the farming families also can experience friction from within as everyone is in it together through both good times and bad. However, it’s not negative; kids on the farm grow up with some advantages that their in-town counterparts don’t always get.
Bakker, a dairy farmer alongside her husband when not at the clinic, is qualified to provide services under the initiative thanks to her experience on the farm. She says it can be difficult for someone outside the industry to relate to the unique challenges that the industry faces.
Local farmers and their families are encouraged to reach out to Bakker at Mental Care to learn how they can take advantage of the now unlimited support offered by the Farmers Wellness Initiative.
(written by Kasey Egan)
Johanna Bakker: (JO-ah’na BAH-kerr)
