Impact
The environmental footprint of therapy and psychology may be minimal, but workers in mental health still have an important role to play in climate: helping people manage climate-related anxiety and trauma from extreme weather. A 2020 poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association found that over two-thirds of Americans are “somewhat or extremely anxious about the impact of climate change on the planet”.
Mental health is critical to our ability to adapt and be resilient to the climate crisis. There are resources and professional communities below to help you get started with incorporating climate issues into your practice.
Resources
- Mental Health and Our Changing Climate (APA, Climate for Health, ecoAmerica, 2021)
- The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health: A Systematic Descriptive Review. (Cianconi et al., Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020)
- ‘Overwhelming and terrifying’: the rise of climate anxiety (Matthew Taylor & Jessica Murray, The Guardian, 2020)
- Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change: A Clinician’s Guide (Leslie Davenport, 2017)
Professional Communities
- Climate Psychology Alliance North America: “a community of mental health professionals who educate and train mental health professionals in climate-aware practices and inform the public about the mental health impacts of climate change.”
- Climate for Health: a network of health leaders founded by ecoAmerica offering “tools, resources, and communications to demonstrate visible climate leadership, inspiring and empowering health leaders to speak about, act on and advocate for climate solutions”
Help us create expand this guide! Please share resources and experiences in the comments below, or reach out via email: hello[at]carl.eco.