Rick Peterson, Ph.D., LMFT, CFLE

Professional Affiliations
Rick is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist with Texas A&M University College Station, TX.  He is a Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Family Life Educator, and Mediator, and has been actively involved in rural mental health for over 17 years. Rick has program development and evaluation experience in the areas of crisis intervention, delivery of mental health and mediation services, and interdisciplinary training with family physicians and rural mental health providers. In addition, he provides consultation with mental health and human service professionals concerning rural family issues and needs.

NARMH Positions and Projects

Rick has been a member of NARMH since 1991 and currently serves as President-Elect.  As a member of NARMH, he has been active by attending annual conferences, served on numerous NARMH committees including: Membership, Personnel, Technology, Nominations, and was the 2001, 2004 and 2006 Conference Chair.

As President-Elect, Rick’s vision is to continue to make NARMH a premier association for rural mental health professionals.  As part of this vision   NARMH will continue to provide excellent customer service for members including:

• Supplying high quality training opportunities for members and non-members through our annual conferences,
• Serving as an advocate for members and rural consumers,
• Articulating policy recommendation to improved accessibility, availability and acceptability of mental health services,
• Providing a forum for practitioners, researchers and consumers to network and dialog,
• Disseminating best practices and research findings through our publication Journal of Rural Mental Health and on our website.

In addition, Rick has several priority areas in his work as a President-Elect. These priorities include maintaining NARMH's fiscal health and expanding collaboration with stakeholder groups including association’s membership and our Federal partners to enhance NARMH's visibility and to achieve our mission "Linking Voices to Promote Rural Mental Health".

Rural Mental Health Involvement and Contributions
As a rural researcher, Rick's focus has been in the areas of adjustment and adaptation concerning mental health and quality of life. His background as a farmer and professional experience as a clinician, educator, and rural researcher and evaluator have greatly aided him in his current position serving the people of Texas and NARMH.