Psychologist Tanya Forster, who heads Macquarie Health Collective, said the drought had had a significant impact on the mental health of farmers.

However, in November changes were made to the Medicare which provided a rebate for those using the telehealth service to get help from a psychologist.

Mrs Forster said her husband is a farmer so she’s worked on the land herself and knows the affect it can have on someone’s mental health.

“Our stats around mental health in farming has been horrible. Hopefully we can break some of these trends, particularly when 2018 is such a tough year in farming,” Mrs Forster said.

“It just does not rain. The drought is affecting everybody. Everyone is selling stock because they can no longer afford to feed them and it’s a pretty terrible time so it’s important to make sure our local families, and those west of Dubbo, are aware that this is available.”

Areas west of Dubbo were “screaming out for help” because of the lack of mental health services, Mrs Forster said. However, the telehealth service was ensuring those communities could still access a psychologist.

Before the telehealth rebate was introduced, Mrs Forster said she would have clients who drove four hours one way for appointments Macquarie Health Collective. The Collective generally services Dubbo, Wellington and all the towns further West.

Ms Forster says she has clients from Lightning Ridge to Cobar to Wellington.

Taking a full day out to see a psychologist was not always practical for those who have a demanding job like a farmer, especially when multiple visits were typically needed, she said.

Generally, farmers were also private people, Mrs Forster said.

“I’m glad that the conversation around mental health is happening more and more and I’m hoping if we can remove the geographical barrier that’s one less thing to get in the way of these farmers being able to access the support they need,” Mrs Forster said.

“Now that rebates are available people are much more willing to access the online service so they can get the same standard of care but from the comfort of their own home.”

Mrs Forster said it was a really exciting time in the mental health area. Hopefully it was a time of change in Dubbo and the west that would lead to a shift in statistics, she said.