{"id":119115,"date":"2024-08-20T10:31:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T15:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/?p=119115"},"modified":"2024-08-20T10:31:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T15:31:45","slug":"climate-crisis-clinical-psychology-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/psychology\/climate-crisis-clinical-psychology-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrating the Climate Crisis into Clinical Psychology Education\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"clearfix\"><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We are in the midst of a climate crisis whose psychological impact will only increase. As a clinical psychologist, I ask myself: What can my field offer in response to the climate crisis?\u00a0 I joined a community of psychologist colleagues via the Climate Psychology Alliance North America (CPA-NA) who share these concerns.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Last year, I gave a talk on clinical psychology and the climate crisis to students and faculty in the clinical psychology doctoral program at the Washington, D.C., Campus of The Chicago School. Based on this talk, I was encouraged to design and teach a semester course to introduce students to the knowledge, skills, and professional support systems they will require to work on climate-related psychological issues in their future careers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What are students learning? The course highlights how climate-related increases in heat, drought, flooding, severe storms, and wildfires affect not only people\u2019s livelihoods and physical health but also their mental health. For example:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">During heat waves, psychologists must address mental health effects people experience, such as the impact of heat on suicidality, efficacy of psychotropic medications, aggression, and sleep.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For people struck by climate-related storms, fires, and other disasters, psychological first aid is an immediate intervention, and communities also require ongoing mental health support to recover and prepare for future disasters.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Increasing numbers of people, especially young people, seek climate-aware psychotherapy to find meaningful ways to act on the severe anxiety, grief, anger, and other feelings they have about the future of our planet.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Psychologists can also practice leadership and advocacy around climate issues. Low-income communities and communities of color have unjustly suffered the worst health and mental health effects of heat, air pollution, toxic chemicals, impure water, and other environmental hazards. These same communities stand to be disproportionately affected by future climate change. Psychologists can testify in court, help design legislation, shape implementation of policies, and assist community groups.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The course format enhances students\u2019 learning in several ways:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each student is paired with a practicing mental health professional mentor from CPA-NA. In a series of one-on-one videoconference meetings throughout the semester, mentors acquaint students with a wide range of climate-psychology-related activities, give them role models in the field, provide them with emotional support, guide their career development, and connect them with professional opportunities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Students work in pairs to interview invited experts on designated topics such as disaster response with children, indigenous wisdom on climate, advocacy on climate issues, and mental health issues facing climate activists and frontline workers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Students practice conducting climate-related conversations with a variety of individuals, to develop their expertise in eliciting different people\u2019s feelings, thoughts, and responses around climate in honest, meaningful, and productive ways.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each student keeps a journal throughout the semester to reflect on their own evolving feelings about the climate crisis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Addressing the climate crisis will require individuals, communities, and nations to practice resilience and make changes on an unprecedented scale. Working at all these levels, psychologists can play a key role in facilitating productive conversations, generating hope, helping people adapt, addressing barriers to change, and shaping solutions that promote human and planetary well-being.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are in the midst of a climate crisis whose psychological impact will only increase. As a clinical psychologist, I ask myself: What can my field offer in response to the climate crisis?\u00a0 I joined a community of psychologist colleagues via the Climate Psychology Alliance North America (CPA-NA) who share these concerns.\u00a0 Last year, I gave a talk on clinical psychology and the climate crisis to students and faculty in the clinical psychology doctoral program at the Washington, D.C., Campus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":119117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1394],"class_list":["post-119115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Integrating the Climate Crisis into Clinical Psychology Education\u00a0\u00a0 - Insight Digital Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. David Sacks describes a course he created to teach psychology students to deal with the effects of the climate crisis.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/psychology\/climate-crisis-clinical-psychology-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Integrating the Climate Crisis into Clinical Psychology Education\u00a0\u00a0 - Insight Digital Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. David Sacks describes a course he created to teach psychology students to deal with the effects of the climate crisis.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/psychology\/climate-crisis-clinical-psychology-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Insight Digital Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-20T15:31:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Sacks.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1376\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"753\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David B. 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