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<font size="+2"><i><b>September 8, 2021</b></i></font><br>
<br>
[find a Ghostbuster]<br>
<b>Anxious about the climate future? Seen a climate-aware therapist
lately? </b><br>
Along with the growing scope of climate change challenges and the
growing numbers of climate-concerned people comes an expanding body
of therapists ready to lend a hand.<br>
by ARIELLA COOK-SHONKOFF and ROBERT BERLEY - - SEPTEMBER 8, 2021<br>
<br>
Increasing numbers of adults and children around the world are
experiencing climate-related distress. With more frequent and
intense hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires, and heat waves, and
associated deaths, traumas, and forced migration, it comes as no
surprise that anxiety, fears and nagging uncertainties about the
future are on the rise.<br>
<br>
According to extensive social science analyses done between 2015 and
2020, the “alarmed” segment of the American adult population more
than doubled from 11% to 26% – with nearly six in ten “alarmed” or
“concerned.”* Climate distress is experienced across racial groups,
with Latinx and Blacks even more likely to be “alarmed” or
“concerned” than whites.<br>
<br>
<b>Suppressed climate distress ‘can feel like emotional
constipation’</b><br>
The emotions arising – worry, helplessness, anger, grief, despair –
can feel overwhelming, disabling, pernicious. Whether consciously or
not, many people aim to avoid or dismiss or squelch them. But these
responses offer only temporary relief from a problem that won’t go
away on its own.<br>
<br>
Suppressed climate distress can feel like emotional constipation;
it’s excruciatingly uncomfortable to remain arrested in a state of
fear, worry, sadness, despair, anger, or agitation inside of our
bodies. Yet it can be painful as well to bring these emotions to
light, and difficult to put the experience into words. So how to
begin?<br>
<br>
The good news is that there are numerous support groups and creative
ways to process climate anxiety, climate grief, and other related
emotions. Community advocacy groups such as Citizens’ Climate Lobby,
facilitated forums like climate cafes or Good Grief Network,
religious or spiritual institutions, and interactive projects like
Dear Tomorrow offer community, connection and opportunities to
vocalize and express feelings and concerns.<br>
<br>
<b>Mood and behavioral changes may signal a need for help</b><br>
But for people struggling to function in their daily lives – such as
getting out of bed in the morning or focusing at work or school –
seeking professional mental health support is especially important.
Another sign that someone might need help is if their mood or
behavior significantly changes: intense mood swings, agitation,
restlessness, social avoidance, risky behaviors, increased
drug/alcohol use. In some cases, people will initiate therapy on
their own, but in others, they might not think they need help or may
hesitate for other reasons. For those concerned about someone,
approaching them in a non-judgmental way, and directing them to
resources may be especially helpful.<br>
<br>
Lise Van Susteren, MD, co-founder of Climate Psychiatry Alliance and
author of Emotional Inflammation, acknowledges that initiating
therapy comes with common fears and anxieties including “fear of
exposure and fear of not finding a solution.” But on the flip side,
she says, not talking about issues of great personal concern can
feel “crushing to the spirit when confronted with the realities of
climate change,” leaving one feeling alienated and alone.<br>
<br>
Sharing private feelings with another person requires a degree of
trust, safety, and commitment. Some people are accustomed to how
therapy works, but others might feel ashamed to seek help or
uncomfortable opening up to a “stranger,” even one professionally
trained on such matters. Even after a therapist-client relationship
is established, unpacking complex emotions takes time and energy,
and sometimes it can feel worse before it feels better. However,
there is much to be gained through a constructive therapy process:
empathy, social connection, and the relief that arises from
authentic emotional expression. <br>
<br>
<b>Mental health professionals as climate anxiety ‘first responders’</b><br>
In a way, mental health professionals are the EMTs, the first
responders in the psychological realm of the climate crisis. Just as
they are trained to support clients coping or dealing with
existential issues such as illness, aging, and death, they are
equipped to support clients in working on feelings arising from the
climate situation. <br>
<br>
Climate distress – including eco-anxiety or grief or panic or PTSD
or intense sadness that arises from the loss of place or home
(termed “solastalgia”) – for many can be overwhelming, difficult to
comprehend, helping to fuel a sense of helplessness or loneliness.
But it’s also a perfectly rational and healthy response to a
degraded, unpredictable, and at-risk world. As author Britt Wray and
clinician Andrew Bryant note, a successful therapy experience can
result in an empowering response involving emotional work along with
active efforts in the world outside.<br>
<br>
In April 2021, the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America,
along with the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, launched a national
database of Climate Aware Therapists to help connect the public to
therapists who prioritize and recognize the impacts of climate
change on mental health. Merritt Juliano, co-president of Climate
Psychology Alliance of North America, describes the directory as a
resource for people to “find mental health providers familiar with
the multidimensional aspects of the climate crisis and its impacts
on social and psychological well-being.” She points to the role of
climate-aware therapists “to listen and validate a person’s
thoughts, feelings and experiences rather than dismiss or
pathologize them.” That is, climate distress is not a diagnosis but
a response to how one feels adversely affected by real world events.<br>
<br>
Van Susteren’s involvement in developing this resource was prompted
by her receiving numerous calls from potential patients “desperate”
to find psychiatrists or therapists sensitive to these issues. She
said some patients felt invalidated or dismissed by other mental
health professionals when they brought up their climate concerns. <br>
<br>
<b>Allowing one’s feelings to ‘surface into consciousness’</b><br>
Indeed, a recent article reveals a concerning gap between the
public’s desire to talk about climate distress, and therapists’
abilities to support them. While climate psychology is an emergent
field, it is getting more thought and attention in the medical
community as training programs and best practices are actively being
developed. Most importantly, a client should be able to bring up the
topic to an empathic audience and get the support that they need. <br>
<br>
Climate aware therapists apply a range of approaches and tools,
including their own theoretical orientations and treatment
modalities, which they are familiar and comfortable with. Elizabeth
Allured, also a co-president of Climate Psychology Alliance North
America, points out that: “not everyone feels consciously distressed
or brings up climate change in therapy. A climate-aware therapist
holds in mind the larger environmental crisis we’re in, and allows
feelings to surface into consciousness.”<br>
<br>
Some people might feel reluctant to seek help, and it’s unfortunate
that shame and stigma discourage many from doing so. But the truth
is that many of us can benefit from some type of professional
support: Just as a person seeks medical aid for a physical injury,
they should be able to seek mental health support for emotional
distress without judgment. Researchers have indicated that during
the pandemic more and more Americans have accessed – and continue to
access – therapy and counseling. Although every health care system
has its own barriers to mental health treatment, such as wait lists
and insurance-imposed limits on the number of sessions, in many
communities, access to therapy can also be found through local
hotlines and community clinics. <br>
<br>
As climate psychologists will attest, we are living through an epoch
of collective environmental trauma, and subsequent climate distress.
Even for those among that increasingly shrinking number who are
less-than-concerned, the distress of living in an increasingly
unpredictable, hostile world will inevitably influence their daily
lives. Acknowledging one’s feelings about climate change challenges,
and talking about them not only benefits individuals and groups, but
may spur broader climate engagement. <br>
<br>
It’s sometimes said that when so much is at stake, so many must be
involved. When we all participate in the conversation, to whatever
extent we’re able, hope and connection bloom together. <br>
<br>
*Editor’s note: This research was led by the Yale Program on
Climate Change Communication (publisher of this website) and by the
Center for Climate Change Communications at George Mason University.
<br>
Ariella Cook-Shonkoff is a psychotherapist, writer, and art
therapist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. <br>
Robert Berley is a Seattle-based psychoanalytic psychologist and
Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the
University of Washington.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/09/anxious-about-the-climate-future-seen-a-climate-aware-therapist-lately/">https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/09/anxious-about-the-climate-future-seen-a-climate-aware-therapist-lately/</a>
<p>- -</p>
[Research Paper]<br>
<b>Ecological grief and anxiety: the start of a healthy response </b><b>to
climate change?</b><br>
There is increasing global awareness that the next<br>
10 years must be a period of extensive and rapid<br>
mitigation and adaptation to safeguard humanity<br>
from the worst harms of the climate crisis. An urgent<br>
need for action was recently underscored by three<br>
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special<br>
Reports: the Special Report on Global Warming of 1·5°C,<br>
the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, and<br>
the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a<br>
Changing Climate. Similarly, the 2019 report of the Lancet<br>
Countdown on Health and Climate Change1 highlighted<br>
potentially catastrophic health risks for a child born<br>
today if an adequate response to climate change does<br>
not occur, including increased rates of food insecurity<br>
and undernutrition, of diarrhoeal and infectious diseases,<br>
and of complications from air pollution, and increased<br>
morbidity and mortality from exposure to extreme<br>
weather events (eg, heatwaves, flooding, wildfires,<br>
and hurricanes).<br>
Despite the overwhelming scientific<br>
evidence available and mounting public advocacy, at the<br>
2019 UN Conference of the Parties negotiations, a small<br>
group of governments seemed to block meaningful<br>
progress, leading to inadequate outcomes. As the first<br>
Production Gap report made clear in 2019, governments<br>
still plan to produce approximately 120% more fossil<br>
fuels than would be consistent with limiting warming<br>
to 1·5°C...<br>
More at --
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2542-5196(20)30144-3">https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2542-5196(20)30144-3</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
[Looking carefully at adaptation - ]<br>
<b>Transformative Adaptation Resources & Reading</b><br>
WELCOME TO TrAd! We hope our work-in-progress website will help you
understand what TrAd is, what it aims to provide, who we are, and
how to engage. We’d love to hear from you to find out what brought
you here, and what we can do for each other – so before leaving this
page please either use the Subscribe box at the bottom of the page
or use the 'contact us' box in the footer and we'll get in touch.<br>
<br>
What is Transformational Adaptation?<br>
TrAd, or Transformative Adaptation, is not an organisation but an
approach which you can share . Perhaps your activities already
embody aspects of TrAd!<br>
<br>
The TrAd approach recognises there is now urgent need for us all to
adapt to the certainty of a rapidly-changing planet, in a way that
is transformative of our existing failed institutions, of ourselves
and of our communities. Global governments, corporations and systems
are all failing to respond sufficiently to the threats of climate
breakdown and ecological destruction. It is up to us all to take the
initiative, and vitally important that we interconnect existing
efforts with new projects and creative ideas.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.transformative-adaptation.com/">https://www.transformative-adaptation.com/</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
[Words, just words]<br>
<b>Enough With The Climate Jargon: Scientists Aim For Clearer
Messages On Global Warming</b><br>
September 8, 20215:13 AM ET<br>
Rebecca Hersher at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., July 25,
2018. (photo by Allison Shelley) (Square)<br>
REBECCA HERSHER<br>
<br>
<b>Here's a sentence that's basically unintelligible to most people:
Humans must mitigate global warming by pursuing an unprecedented
transition to a carbon neutral economy.</b><b><br>
</b><br>
A recent study found that some of the most common terms in climate
science are confusing to the general public. The study tested words
that are frequently used in international climate reports, and it
concluded that the most confusing terms were "mitigation," "carbon
neutral" and "unprecedented transition."<br>
<br>
"I think the main message is to avoid jargon," says Wändi Bruine de
Bruin, a behavioral scientist at the University of Southern
California and the lead author of the study. "That includes words
that may seem like everyone should understand them."<br>
<br>
For example, participants in the study mixed up the word
"mitigation," which commonly refers to efforts that reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, with the word "mediation," which is a way
to resolve disputes. And even simple terms such as "carbon" can be
misleading, the study found. Sometimes, carbon is shorthand for
carbon dioxide. Other times, it's used to refer to multiple
greenhouse gases.<br>
<br>
"As experts in a particular field, we may not realize which of the
words that we're using are jargon," says Bruine de Bruin.<br>
<br>
The study is the latest indication that scientists need to do a
better job communicating about global warming, especially when the
intended audience is the general public.<br>
<br>
Clear climate communication gets more important every day because
climate change is affecting every part of life on Earth. Nurses,
doctors, farmers, teachers, engineers and business executives need
reliable, accessible information about how global warming is
affecting their patients, crops, students, buildings and businesses.<br>
<br>
And extreme weather this summer — from floods to fires, hurricanes
to droughts — underscores the urgency of clear climate
communication.<br>
<br>
"I think more and more people are getting concerned because of the
extreme weather events that we're seeing around us," says Bruine de
Bruin. "I hope that this study is useful to climate scientists, but
also to journalists and anybody who communicates about climate
science."<br>
<br>
Better communication is a mandate for the team of scientists
currently working on the next National Climate Assessment, which is
the most comprehensive, public-facing climate change report for the
U.S. The fifth edition of the assessment comes out in late 2023.<br>
<br>
"You shouldn't need an advanced degree or a decoder ring to figure
out a National Climate Assessment," says Allison Crimmins, the
director of the assessment.<br>
<br>
Crimmins says one of her top priorities is to make the information
in the next U.S. report clear to the general public. Climate
scientists and people who communicate about climate science have a
responsibility to think about the terminology they use. "While the
science on climate change has advanced, so has the science of
climate communication, especially how we talk about risk," she says.<br>
<br>
Crimmins says one way to make the information clearer is to present
it in many different ways. For example, a chapter on drought could
include a dense, technical piece of writing with charts and graphs.
That section would be intended for scientists and engineers. But the
same information could be presented as a video explaining how
drought affects agriculture in different parts of the U.S., and a
social media post with an even more condensed version of how climate
change is affecting drought.<br>
<br>
The United Nations has also tried to make its climate change reports
more accessible.<br>
<br>
The most recent report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change was more than 3,900 pages long and highly technical,
but it also included a two-page summary that stated the main points
in simple language, such as, "It is unequivocal that human influence
has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land."<br>
<br>
But even the simple summary is rife with words that can be
confusing. For example, one of the so-called headline statements
from the IPCC report is, "With further global warming, every region
is projected to increasingly experience concurrent and multiple
changes in climatic impact-drivers." Basically, the climate will
keep changing everywhere as Earth gets hotter.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1033362163/enough-with-the-climate-jargon-scientists-aim-for-clearer-messages-on-global-war">https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1033362163/enough-with-the-climate-jargon-scientists-aim-for-clearer-messages-on-global-war</a><br>
<p>- -</p>
[Research paper has some nuggets]<br>
<b>Public understanding of climate change terminology </b><br>
Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Lila Rabinovich ...<br>
Published Online August 2021<br>
Abstract<br>
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other
institutions communicate about climate change to diverse audiences
without a background in climate science, including the general
public. The effectiveness of these communications depends in part on
how well the presented terminology is understood. In qualitative
interviews, we examined how US residents interpreted key terms drawn
from IPCC reports, including tipping point, unprecedented
transition, carbon neutral, carbon dioxide removal, adaptation,
mitigation, sustainable development, and abrupt change. We recruited
twenty participants with diverse views on climate change from a
nationally representative sample. We identified common themes and
misunderstandings. Overall, 88% of the themes arose by the tenth
interview, and no new themes arose after the seventeenth interview.
Mitigation, carbon neutral, and unprecedented transition were
perceived as the most difficult to understand. Adaptation and abrupt
change were perceived as the easiest to understand. However, even if
a term appeared to be understood, participants were not always clear
about how it applied to climate change. Participants tended to draw
on their mental models of non-climate contexts where terms had
different meanings. Reading the terms in the context of sentences
taken from communication materials was not always helpful due to the
use of complex language...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10584-021-03183-0?sharing_token=BjiYaOYTk1LQCEBJljE8wve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY6P53CJY43T-w-_jBBFxNif-xumfesTbuTZxqSw7p0Uwws7HXQFIz9N4arWkWZcrqE80CVYHsVYlyjrpICyLXsF3Wco-Y3S0PIIGr2CJ6TnLrJdh3MAaAqWep0r0o4qMnI%3D">https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10584-021-03183-0?sharing_token=BjiYaOYTk1LQCEBJljE8wve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY6P53CJY43T-w-_jBBFxNif-xumfesTbuTZxqSw7p0Uwws7HXQFIz9N4arWkWZcrqE80CVYHsVYlyjrpICyLXsF3Wco-Y3S0PIIGr2CJ6TnLrJdh3MAaAqWep0r0o4qMnI%3D</a><br>
<p> - -</p>
[To the big source]<br>
<b>Annex I: Glossary</b><br>
IPCC SR15 glossary can be accessed directly <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_AnnexI_Glossary.pdf">https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_AnnexI_Glossary.pdf</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[The news archive - looking back]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming
September 8, 2003</b></font><br>
The EPA denies a petition by the International Center for Technology
Assessment to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air
Act, setting off a four-year legal battle that culminates in the
Supreme Court's Massachusetts v. EPA ruling.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2003-09-08/03-22764/content-detail.html">http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2003-09-08/03-22764/content-detail.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
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