LEICESTER, N.C. — Climate change can be a touchy subject. The subject can spark debate between those who believe and those who do not. It can evoke feelings of stress or guilt, or at the very least, according to Lisa Perry, many people she speaks to think that bringing up climate change will kill the mood.
“Even if you talk to a lot of people, just down the street, or your family or your friends or whatever, and they say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re screwed. We’re doomed,’ and then they change the subject,” she said. “In counseling, people are less likely to change the subject.”
This is why the therapist from Leicester believes that her clients are bringing up the subject more and more often during her sessions, especially after 2020.
“I’ve never really seen the outside world intervene so much in counseling,” she said.
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Especially after major global disasters like wildfires or hurricanes, Perry said she’s noticed that some of her clients are eager to share their thoughts and anxieties with someone, and it’s often her default to do so. was doing.
“It’s so there and it’s terrifying that people can dance around it because it’s hard to even touch,” she said.
However, at present, while American Psychological Association Although climate change can have a psychological impact, there are few if any standard guidelines for how therapists should approach these topics.
THE Climate Psychology Alliance, a nonprofit organization made up of mental health professionals is working to change that by creating a network of what they call “climate-conscious therapists.” Their mission is simple: to provide resources to help psychologists validate and explore climate concerns with their clients, and to help them develop healthy outlets for managing these concerns.
Sarah Rawleigh discovered the group when she started looking for someone to talk to about her own climate-related anxieties.
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“I was suffering from emotions myself, anxiety, despair and anger,” she said.
As a clinical social worker herself, Rawleigh recognized that these were feelings that psychologists are trained to deal with on other topics, so she thought there had to be a way to explore them around of climate change. Through the alliance, she said she joined a group of other psychologists interested in exploring the topic and she said it not only helped her manage her concerns, but also prepared her to handle these conversations with her clients.
“Especially in groups, people start to realize: Oh, I’m not alone,” she said.
Rawleigh believes isolation is seen as one of the biggest drivers of anxiety among her clients, but data shows climate concerns are increasingly common.
According to a study by Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Nearly three in four Americans believe in global warming and 64 percent are very or somewhat worried about the phenomenon. Yet at the same time, the study shows that 59% of Americans underestimate the frequency of these concerns.
For Perry, being a climate-conscious therapist means creating a space where her clients can feel comfortable expressing their concerns without feeling judged or feeling like it’s going to spark a debate.
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“I just try to be welcoming and it seems to blossom,” she said. “Sometimes it’s about what’s going to happen to my house or whether I’m going to be able to feed myself. Do I want to have children? It keeps coming up. If someone has children, how can I protect my children?
As with other issues beyond her clients’ control, Perry said there are no easy answers to these questions and concerns, but so far she said just being a sounding board could help.
“We’re all new to this,” she said. “We are all pioneers.”
Perry and Rawleigh have both joined the Climate Aware Therapist directory, but they say that so far no one has approached them solely to talk about climate concerns. Instead, they say these anxieties arise organically during the session and they manage them accordingly.
Rawleigh also hopes to launch a series of “Climate Cafés” giving those affected another place to talk about climate change and find ways to take action.
“We’re not trying to pressure people,” she said. “It’s just about helping them solve their problem themselves or inviting them to join groups.”
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