NARMH History
The National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) was founded in 1977 in order to develop and enhance rural mental health and substance abuse services and to support mental health providers in rural areas. Subsequently, recognizing the role that consumers and their families play in recovery, NARMH has proactively supported initiatives that strengthen the voices of rural consumers and their families.
NARMH is a membership organization composed of organizations and individuals from across the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada and a few foreign countries. NARMH’s membership includes the entire spectrum of the rural mental health community: consumers, family members, practitioners, administrators, educators, researchers, and policy makers. A focus on and a commitment to rural people and their problems has always been the priority and unifying force in NARMH. This belief that "rural" comes first has allowed NARMH to be relatively free of the turf battles and guild issues that have so fragmented the general field of mental health.
NARMH’s mission is "linking voices to promote rural mental health." NARMH carries out this mission through electronic (website and listservs) and print communication, an annual national conference, participation in national policy making, and special projects. In line with the mission, NARMH has developed such publications as Rural Mental Health: 2000 and Beyond which focuses on building consumer support and involvement; enhancing competence; understanding and managing cost; strengthening communication; and connecting better electronically, organizationally, and politically. More recently NARMH released a publication entitled Rural and Frontier Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Barriers, Effective Policy Strategies, Best Practices. The publication utilized survey data from NARMH membership as well as interviews with more than thirty rural mental health stakeholders to address several key areas in meeting the mental health needs of rural America.
NARMH evolved from a Summer Study Program (SSP) on Rural Mental Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The program was established in 1973 by Victor I. Howery through the University of Wisconsin-Extension Service with support from the National Institute of Mental Health. The SSP was in response to the growing recognition of special issues and concerns facing persons delivering mental health services to rural populations. Before the SSP, rural mental health was little more than a scattered and unconnected set of researchers and practitioners trying to grapple with the problems and prospects of understanding and meeting mental health needs of rural populations.
A committee was formed in 1975 to investigate the feasibility of a rural mental health association and in 1977, a professional association called NARMH was established. The first issue of Rural Community Mental Health was published. A "Task Panel on Rural Mental Health," chaired by Victor Howery with a significant representation from the young association, was created as part of President Carter’s Commission on Mental Health. Rosalynn Carter was an active member of the Task Panel. The work of this Task Panel resulted in the first national public policy attention directed specifically at rural mental health and was the impetus for a number of subsequent initiatives by the National Institute of Mental Health. In recognition of Dr. Howery’s service the "Victor I. Howery Memorial Award" was established in 1978. The Victor I. Howery Memorial Award is given annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of rural mental health. The first Howery Award recipient was Rosalynn Carter.
During the late 1980s, NARMH gained national recognition as a leader in addressing mental health issues related to the farm crisis. NARMH board members worked with other organizations developing national policy
recommendations and testifying on numerous occasions before Congress, speaking to national associations and advisory groups, and presenting at national conferences conveying insight, awareness, and compassion about the impact of the farm crisis on the mental health of rural Americans.
The early 1990s was the era of health care reform and increasing national prominence for NARMH. NARMH was a key player in the Clinton Administration’s health care reform efforts. During this period, NARMH worked with other organizations to promote rural mental health, co-sponsored rural mental health conferences, released special publications and successfully advocated for the creation of a rural mental health technical assistance center (Frontier Mental Health Services Resources Network) focused on frontier service areas.
In 1992, NARMH added a newsletter (The Party-Line) to its publications in order to improve membership communication. In the mid-1990s NARMH became a regular participant in the annual Carter Center Symposium on Mental Health. NARMH joined with over 40 other mental health organizations and interest groups to form the Mental Health Liaison Group which develops recommendations on national mental health policy and advocates for mental health at the federal level. In 1996, NARMH created a new national award, the "Going to Bat Award," which is given to a person who has been a strong advocate of rural mental health. NARMH recognized its 25th anniversary (1998) with the publication of a special anniversary issue of Rural Community Mental Health.
The late 1990s saw a reemergence of the farm crisis and once again NARMH responded by collaborating with other organizations to convene a national summit on "The Farm Crisis and Mental Health." The resulting publication, a special issue of the NARMH newsletter Party Line (Winter 1999), has become the single most important resource and reference on the subject. NARMH was also instrumental in getting a discussion of rural mental health issues included in Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999). To further disseminate information and keep membership informed, NARMH developed its own web site (www.narmh.org) in 1999.
In 2000, in partnership with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, NARMH embarked on a yearlong process to develop Rural Mental Health and Behavioral Health Policy and Action Aganda. In collaboration with the Center for Mental Health Services, NARMH began work to produced a technical assistance manual titled Mental Health Outreach: Promising Practices in Rural Areas.
As NARMH entered the 21st Century there were a number of changes. The organization’s newsletter, Party Line, and journal, Rural Community Mental Health, were combined into a single magazine/journal style quarterly publication, Rural Mental Health. The last of the original art work (prints) for the Howery Award was given in 2001 and the Board selected photographs by board member and former President/Howery Award winner Peter Beeson as the next generation of awards.
Over the years, NARMH, with the help of a dedicated membership, has made significant contributions in raising awareness of rural mental health needs and in removing barriers to meeting the needs of persons with mental illness living in rural areas. NARMH is looking forward to many more decades of national leadership and linking voices to promote rural mental health.
NARMH has been on the forefront of creating a Building a National Plan for Rural Mental Health with other stakeholders including SAMHSA. In addition, NARMH has two new initiatives to strengthen the voices of rural consumers and their families and to develop and mentor the next generation of rural mental health leaders and researchers.
Visit the NARMH website at www.narmh.org for more information regarding NARMH’s history, leadership, conferences, awards, and publications.
