Although psychologists have played key roles in providing mental health services to rural populations for many years, only recently has the profession begun to devote more attention to the issues of psychologists who work in rural areas. Existing literature on rural mental health has focused primarily on unique problems of rural populations and the diagnosis and treatment of rural clients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits and stressors of working in a rural setting (n=197). In addition, the study addressed how well psychologists' training prepared them for rural work and why they chose a career in rural mental health. Phone interviews with 17 psychologists were used to create the Rural Practice and Management Survey, an instrument reflective of the experiences of rural psychologists. Results indicated that rural mental health service providers were a fairly homogeneous group. They tended to be White males who were married, were trained in a clinical psychology program, and who were primarily employed in direct human services. The level of stress reported by this sample was in the low to low-moderate range. Overall, participants were very enthusiastic about the benefits of working in a rural mental health environment. Contains nine tables and three figures. (JBJ)