Family therapy with rural families in a time of farm crisis

Because of the recent farm crisis, many rural families are finding themselves under severe stress. Utilizing McCubbin and Patterson's "Double ABCX Model" of family stress (1983), data from 15 farm families who had come into the Kansas State University Family Center for therapy were given the appropriate forms at intake, at termination, and at a 3-month phone follow-up. Farm families were more reluctant to join into therapy. Major interventions which were employed included reframing, mobilizing resources, and utilizing more straightforward, less indirect means of intervention. The rural families showed a slightly better increase in well-being over the course of therapy than the general sample of clients. However, the rural families' stress levels were not lowered as much as the general sample over the course of therapy and their general life satisfaction was lower at the 3-month follow-up than the general population.