Climate Mental Health

Listen and Validate Feelings

Many youth feel that it is socially not welcome to talk about their concerns or anxiety around the impacts of climate change, leading to feelings of isolation and hopelessness. Nearly half (48%) of youth have been dismissed or ignored by other people when they try to talk about climate change. Over 60% of youth feel that their governments are failing them in not adequately addressing climate change, are misrepresenting the impacts of actions taken, and are dismissing people's distress. Youth often feel that their opinions don't matter to society until they are old enough to vote. It is critically important that our youth feel heard by adults, including caregivers, teachers, and the leaders of our governments.

When teaching about climate change, one of the most important interventions that teachers and caregivers can employ to address climate-related distress is simply to create a safe space for youth to share and be heard. Include discussion and normalization of feelings about climate change. It is okay for people to be angry, grieving, anxious, and overwhelmed. Even feelings of denial or apathy are a normal part of the grieving process (see "Moving Through the Grief").

Listen, without trying to solve, fix, or dismiss

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Learn to be with other people's feelings. Listen to and encourage sharing of personal stories, such as experiences with natural disasters, family beliefs about climate change, or experiences with unfair processes and systems that exacerbate the impacts of climate change. Acknowledge how people are feeling about the climate crisis and provide support in dealing with these feelings. Role-playing and perspective-taking can be useful tools to understand other points of view and how climate change is an example of the tragedy of the commons.

Although climate change effects on youth mental health are significant, youth often develop their own strategies to cope with climate change-related emotions. Learning from young people's coping strategies and engaging already present skills can help educators to build on, strengthen, and promote adaptive coping mechanisms. The best way to understand how students cope is to ask them. After acknowledging the emotions associated with climate change, ask "What do you do to make sense of or move forward in light of all of the impacts of climate change? How do you cope?"

Resources:

Have the Talk: Climate Conversations CLEAN resource is an effective resource to help youth have conversations with their family about climate change, with a large emphasis on listening.
Talk Climate website offers resources and activities devoted to climate and mental health organized by age categories and describes strategies on how to talk about climate with youth. This helpful infographic outlines some simple strategies about how to talk about climate with youth.

Provide compassion, care, empathy and show authentic curiosity

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Listening without disregarding people's beliefs honors their opinions and is an important step to building trust- it can allow us to question and eventually refute the beliefs of climate deniers. It is helpful to empathize and apologize to youth about the state of the climate that current and previous generations have helped create and let them know it is okay to be angry. Open, reciprocal communication supports youth in using their own coping strategies.

Resources:

Podcast: Talking with Children about Climate Change from the Climate Psychology Alliance provides strategies for how to listen and speak with youth using authentic curiosity.

Remind youth they are not alone in feelings and share that many people are working on this problem; it is not solely up to them

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According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, over 4.1 million people were employed to work on climate change mitigation in 2020, and jobs related to climate change mitigation and adaptation continue to grow. This number does not even account for all of the people who are currently making changes in their personal lives, or billions willing to make changes to their behaviors. According to PEW Research Center, 80% of people worldwide are willing to make changes to how they work and live to reduce the effects of global climate change.

Resources:

Project Drawdown is the world's leading collection for climate solutions, and has numerous examples of people all over the world currently working on solutions.
Eco-anxious stories offers a collection of reflections by people surrounding various emotions related to climate change.

Invite all voices to the table

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Give youth practice using their voices and make space and opportunities to do so. Invite all generations to the table when making plans and implementing solutions around climate change impacts. Include frontline communities in discussions about climate and climate solutions to bring all voices to the table. Such conversations could happen as a zoom panel or through oral history projects for youth.

Resources:

How to Engage With Frontline Communities to Deliver Climate Solutions at Scale provides strategies on authentically listening, engaging community, and elevating marginalized voices.
How to Amplify Student Voice: Listen provides strategies for how to engage student voices in discussions.

Be aware of "settler privilege"

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Resources:

An Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators has a variety of resources that explore decolonization & reconciliation, antiracism, and intersectionality within the lens of climate change.

Create a safe environment for sharing, using group norms and restorative practices

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When facilitating conversations, outline what these conversations will look like so that youth know what to expect and make it okay for them to leave the conversation at any time if they are being triggered. Consider setting up in advance alternative assignments or tasks, fun exercises or other forms of coping with potentially heavy subject matter, and a non stigmatizing "face saving" option to go elsewhere (ex. Text instructor to go the bathroom).

Start by creating a safe environment and a sense of agency by outlining group norms, such as using "I" statements, ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak, and that it is okay for them to take a break if needed. Acknowledge potential challenges and highlight strengths and coping skills.

Use restorative practices to help youth feel valued, connected, and talk through negative emotions.

Resources:

Emotional Resilience Toolkit for Climate Work from the Climate Therapy Alliance includes facilitated discussions and activities designed to build emotional resilience for climate work, categorized by age group.
Talking Climate Handbook – How to Have a Climate Change Conversation from Climate Outreach outlines how to have effective climate conversations, including with youth and with people who are strongly opposed to action on climate change.
Teaching Restorative Practices with Classroom Circles guide provides a variety of activities and instruction for using restorative circles.

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