Dr. Val FarmerDr.Val | |||
Rural Mental Health & Family Relationships | |||
Why this Website?June 26, 2023 In a day and age when medical science, public health, psychotherapy, and higher education are suspect and may contain bias and a political agenda, where can you turn for advice? The Internet. But where on the Internet? I am bombarded daily with requests from companies whose sole purpose is to raise my profile through keywords and topics that will capture the algorithms to attract clicks and readership on Google. It is a mysterious art and not everyone can win and the ones that do have paid to have their placement at the top of the list. I am attempting to bypass this process and introduce 28 years of writing on psychotherapy and life issues for the general public. Why? Because it fills a need. Success can be defined as finding a need, filling it with quality and letting those who need it know about its availability. Why? Because I care. Because of love. Love of truth. Love of others. Why? Because it represents a work of a lifetime, my lifetime and I know what price I paid to create it and have heard from many people how much they appreciate my advice. Why? Because this is the way I can still share my gift of writing and help others while enjoying my retirement years. Why? Because it has been a joint effort. All those ?I?s above should be ?We?s? because my wife, Darlene and I sacrificed much together to make this happen. Now we want our grandchildren and those who follow them to know us and to improve upon what we have lived and learned. Four More Big "Why's" 1. Why? Because it?s free of charge. Good deal, right? You pay for what you get. In this case you be the judge ? something can be free and valuable at the same time. If you consider this material of worth, you can donate to a charity of your choice. What?s the gimmick? I?ve been compensated enough for work already produced. My wife and I want everyone who has a need to have access to this material. 2. Why? It is information you could trust and easy to read. I needed to learn to write, not with jargon-filled, pseudo-scientific vocabulary. My intended audience was not my peers in the profession. I needed to communicate information that could be immediately useful, practical and concise for the public. Needless to say, I did not learn that in graduate school. In my professional life, I attended the leading conventions on psychology, rural sociology, stress and mental health and marital therapy. I learned who was doing key innovative research, judged their work to be truthful and scientifically sound, and made it available to the my readership. 3. Why? There are some unique topics not found elsewhere. Mental Health/Behavioral Health issues in the popular media didn?t describe some of the main issues I encountered as a psychologist in clinical practice in the Great Plains and Heartland of America and by extension for that matter, true also in Canada, Australia and Great Britain. I describe these unique issues as: 1) Farm Stress, 2) When Marriage and Farming Clash, 3) Conflict in Farm and Ranch Family Operations, and 4) Life in Rural Communities. I was a pathfinder psychologist who viewed rural life from a cross-cultural perspective. My background included a graduate minor from the University of Arizona in Cultural Anthropology coupled with 2 ? years as a church missionary in Central America. 4. Why? This is for everyone. Despite Urban and Rural differences being real, we also share a common culture, values, and history. Readers, regardless of geography, religious, or political persuasion, appreciate the knowledge and expertise on the human condition from the profession of psychology. |
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