Climate, Psychology, and Change: Reimagining Psychotherapy in an Era of Global Disruption and Climate Anxiety

The sources on this list relate to therapeutic perspectives. They are not freely accessible online - most require a library subscription, institutional access, or purchase.

From The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (Willsher & Freeston, 2024): Climate change distress is a challenge to people seeking help, and to those providing help. Those providing help are working in a new area of clinical practice where little is known, but they may also be experiencing climate change distress. The aim of this article is to highlight the personal and professional implications of the unfolding climate crisis and how we might better understand and support those with understandable, yet intense, emotional reactions to the climate crisis. The article consists of a first-person narrative by Claire Willsher, a CBT psychotherapist with lived experience of climate anxiety, and a commentary on the narrative based on the psychology of climate change literature by Mark Freeston.

ABSTRACT (open access via Cardiff ORCA repository): Climate distress describes a complex array of emotional responses to climate change, which may include anxiety, despair, anger and grief. This paper presents a conceptual analysis of how acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is relevant to supporting those with climate distress. ACT aims to increase psychological flexibility, consisting of an open and aware orientation to one's experiences, and an engaged approach to living, guided by personal values. By embracing climate distress as a natural human experience and promoting value-guided action, ACT offers a promising approach that brings co-benefits to individuals and wider society.