AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Monika McConkey who is a counselor in Minnesota providing mental health services with a focus on rural agricultural communities. McConkey grew up on a 5th generation farm in Minnesota. This podcast was developed by the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee. If you are interested in the work of this committee, please consider joining to provide resources on this topic to AABP members. Find the committee page at this link.

McConkey discusses some of the unique challenges with mental health services in rural communities including access to care, access to a virtual mental health counselor, financial barriers, and the barrier of the stigma especially in small rural areas where anonymity is lacking. The AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee strives to remove the stigma associated with mental health by bringing the conversation to the forefront and providing resources to our members.

The ICR Change Ruler comes out of motivational interviewing techniques as a behavioral health tool to help clients make change happen and identify why change is not happening. ICR stands for importance, confidence and readiness. McConkey discusses how veterinarians can use this tool to help clients accept change based on veterinarian recommendations. McConkey reviews some of the reasons change is difficult for many people and how we can help them accept change.

McConkey reviews some questions that veterinarians can ask clients to help them through a change. This can include asking them what they are looking forward to, how they think change could work for them and what do they need to do to make change happen. Asking questions that target the disadvantages of not changing and maintaining the status quo is another method to encourage change based on your recommendations. McConkey also recommends prioritizing a list of stages and steps vs. overwhelming clients with many suggestions can result in small positive changes steps to help clients achieve a goal.

We close the podcast with a discussion about how veterinarians can apply the ICR Change Ruler to take steps to apply change to our own life. Identifying the change needed, understanding its importance, being confident you can be successful with change and being ready for the change can have a positive impact on our own mental and physical health.