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Evaluation ViewAttendees 9

Clinical Round Tables

Climate Change

Clinical Round Table 9 - “Hope Is Not Passive, Hope Is Taking Action”: Supporting Youth Mental Health in the Context of the Climate Crisis

Friday, November 17, 2023
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Location: Katchess (405), Level 4
Earn 1.5 Credit
Keywords: Climate Change, Child, Public Health
Recommended Readings: Clayton, S., Manning, C. M., Speiser, M., & Hill, A. N. (2021). Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Inequities, Responses. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, and ecoAmerica.,   Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., ... & van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863-e873.,   Burke, S. E., Sanson, A. V., & Van Hoorn, J. (2018). The psychological effects of climate change on children. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(35), 1-8.,   ,  
In 2023, our world is marked by devastating hurricanes, heatwaves, and floods, with such visible large-scale events punctuating the evolution of a climate that is steadily becoming more hazardous to human health. The effects of a changing climate are felt broadly and profoundly, including in the realm of mental health. Growing evidence demonstrates the extent to which and pathways through which climate stressors threaten one’s well-being, safety, emotions, and outlook for the future, particularly amongst young people. Youth and young adults face elevated risk of such burdens given their more limited autonomy and resources, likely longer futures on a changing planet, and reliance on coping mechanisms that are still in development. Further, youth from historically marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable due to outsized risks of climate harms facing such populations. As mental health professionals, we are obliged to equip ourselves to meet this moment. We can do so in part by better understanding the nature of these issues and the opportunities to help both inside and outside a therapeutic encounter. This roundtable will address: (a) common emotions and experiences associated with climate distress amongst young people; (b) ways in which individual, geographic, and socioeconomic factors put some at greater risk of harm in the context of climate change, psychologically and otherwise; (c) useful cognitive-behavioral principles in addressing climate distress (including valid, reasonable concerns young people may have); (d) opportunities to help youth cultivate positive experiences (e.g., connectedness, joy, and empowerment) alongside difficult emotions; and (e) opportunities to support families wrestling with climate stressors. Presenters will draw on their backgrounds working with young people in psychotherapeutic, advocacy, educational, and research settings in discussing how to support them in their daily lives, and in places that extend beyond a traditional clinical milieu.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Identify common emotional experiences that occur alongside climate stressors.
  • Articulate why youth and members of minoritized groups are especially vulnerable to psychological burdens associated with climate change.
  • Discuss cognitive-behavioral principles and strategies that may be useful in addressing young peoples’ climate distress.
  • Describe opportunities to help young people foster positive experiences and emotions alongside climate distress.
  • Describe opportunities to help families navigate psychological stressors associated with climate change.