This paper presents research and clinical material exploring how eco-anxiety can be felt and thought about by children and young people, arguing against treating it as a singular emotional and cognitive experience or seeing it only through adult eyes. Drawing on international clinical and research evidence, Hickman proposes a scale differentiating experiences of eco-anxiety from mild through medium to significant, severe and critical climate distress, and considers individual, relational, collective and planetary dimensions of trauma as experienced by children and young people. The paper closes with considerations for clinical practice.
Eco-Anxiety in Children and Young People
2024
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This paper presents research and clinical material exploring how eco-anxiety can be felt and thought about by children and young people, arguing against treating it as a singular emotional and cognitive experience or seeing it only through adult eyes. Drawing on international clinical and research evidence, Hickman proposes a scale differentiating experiences of eco-anxiety from mild through medium to significant, severe and critical climate distress, and considers individual, relational, collective and planetary dimensions of trauma as experienced by children and young people. The paper closes with considerations for clinical practice.
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