Informal support for mental health in farming communities: Understanding the experiences of ‘accidental counsellors’

The mental health of farming communities has attracted growing research attention in recent years, with studies highlighting a range of stressors faced by farming people, as well as a number of barriers to seeking help and accessing formal healthcare services in rural areas. In this context, informal support networks are increasingly being recognised as vital for promoting wellbeing within farming populations. In particular, individuals such as farm advisors and veterinarians have been identified as playing a crucial role in providing unplanned, informal emotional support through their day-to-day interactions with farmers. The experiences of these individuals, however, including their motivations for providing such support and the challenges they may face in doing so, remain underexplored. Referring to these individuals as ‘accidental counsellors’, this paper addresses this gap by presenting findings from a study involving a total of 14 professionals (eight through qualitative interviews and six through a focus group) working with farmers in southwest England (including individuals from veterinary practices; a law firm; an agricultural mortgage provider; an accountancy practice; a dairy consultancy; and other farm/business advisors). The findings highlight the emotional and ethical complexities faced by accidental counsellors, including issues around maintaining professional boundaries, managing emotional distress and ensuring personal safety. Potential strategies for improving training and support are then discussed. The findings are conceptualised and interpreted through a relational ethics of care perspective, which illustrates how it is the mutual, co-constructed, and interdependent nature of caring relationships between farmers and accidental counsellors, which ultimately underpin this collective, informal support system within the agricultural community. The conclusions highlight the need for tailored training and support to safeguard the wellbeing of accidental counsellors and sustain the resilience of these informal care networks.