Climate Change Driving Necessary Adaptations within Therapeutic Practices
In the face of the escalating climate crisis, a growing number of organisations and individuals are recognising the need for collective action to address the emotional impacts of climate change. One such organisation is the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA), a U.K.-based nonprofit that has expanded its reach to include 500 members in the U.K., the U.S., Portugal, Japan, Denmark, and other countries.
The CPA was founded in 2011 with a mission to equip mental health professionals with climate-aware practices. This is crucial, as the field of psychology is rapidly evolving to address eco-distress and its impacts across cultures and identities. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) acknowledged for the first time that climate change is impacting people's mental health.
Tori Tsui, a climate justice activist who grew up in a fishing town in Hong Kong where tropical storms were common, is one individual who has struggled with eco-distress, a term used by mental health professionals to describe a wide range of emotions about the climate crisis. The CPA provides training to therapists, psychiatrists, and social workers to help them identify and address the emotional impacts of climate change on their patients. Journalists and activists may also receive free counseling through the CPA.
The CPA hosts separate circles focused on young people and parents who are looking to help their kids manage their distress. They also run Climate Cafes, which are group support sessions for people struggling with eco-distress, free of charge. These sessions provide a safe space for individuals to connect, mourn, and imagine alternatives collectively.
The CPA believes that healing individual eco-distress requires inviting politics into the consulting room and focusing on systemic changes. They argue that social, economic, political, and environmental events inevitably shape our psychology. This approach is reflected in the work of the Good Grief Network, a U.S. nonprofit that organizes online peer-to-peer support sessions to metabolize collective climate grief since 2016.
In Germany, related initiatives in mindfulness and stress management might be relevant to the issue of eco-distress awareness. However, no specific organisation explicitly named in the provided data is currently promoting eco-distress-aware practices in the education of therapists, psychiatrists, and social workers.
The emotional toll of climate change is a global concern. In 2019, Iceland held a funeral for the first glacier it lost to climate change. Climate Awakening, another organisation, organises thousands of virtual small-group conversations about the emotional toll of climate change.
Research has shown that survivors of climate disasters, such as California's deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire of 2018, suffer severe trauma with cognitive deficits and altered brain activity. As the climate crisis continues to unfold, it is crucial that we continue to support each other and seek out resources to address eco-distress.
In conclusion, the CPA's work is a testament to the power of collective action in addressing the emotional impacts of climate change. As we move forward, it is essential that we continue to support each other, seek out resources, and work towards systemic changes to address the root causes of eco-distress.
