A peer-guided mental health program for farmers

recruiting from 6 January 2025 to help farming communities get Back on Track with their mental health!

About Back on Track

Back On Track is an innovative, peer-guided mental health initiative designed to support farming communities. Funded by the Gardiner Foundation and led by the National Centre for Farmer Health, this program focuses on improving mental health outcomes for farmers by providing practical, culturally appropriate support delivered by trusted community members.

How it works

Back On Track offers a supportive, practical approach to improving mental health through:

• A 10 x session program (approximately 1 x hour per week over 10 weeks).
• Guidance from peer coaches trained in behavioural activation—an evidence based method for boosting mood.
• Flexibly delivered to reduce barriers to accessing support.

The program has been co-designed with farming communities to ensure it meet the needs of their community members and is being delivered by trained Back on Track coaches who live and work in Victoria’s farming communities. Our coaches bring both personal experience and specialised training in behavioural activation techniques to help participants develop positive habits and improve their mental health.

Who can join?

Participation in the feasibility trail is open to members of the farming community:

• aged 15+

• from Towong, Gippsland, and Corangamite Shires

• who are experiencing low mood, or depression.

These areas were selected to reflect the Gardiner Foundation’s focus on dairy farming communities, but all eligible participants in and around these regions are welcome.

If you know someone who might benefit from this program, we encourage you to share this opportunity with them to help spread the support.

The Coaches

The coaches are not only local community members—they have also completed the Back On Track program as part of their training. This means they bring both personal experience and formal  training in behavioural activation techniques to help participants develop positive habits and improve their mental health.

Funding and research

The feasibility trail of Back On Track is funded by the Gardiner Foundation, led by the National Centre for Farmer Health and supported by an experienced team of researchers and clinicians from Deakin University, Western District Health Service, La Trobe University, Edith Cowan University and the University of South Australia.