In a recent meeting with several therapists, I shared my plans for upcoming magazine issues. When I talked about exploring new perspectives on coercive control, neurodiversity, spiritual abuse, and the nebulous life-coaching industry, my audience clapped enthusiastically. But I was saving what I thought was the most interesting and critical topic for last. “In the fall,” I announced proudly, “we’ll be delving into climate change and mental health.”
With that, my audience fell silent. “Yeah,” someone finally muttered, “I don’t really want to read about that.”
I get it. Whenever I see headlines about how warming waters have caused the most severe hurricane season ever, or how many microplastics we consume on a daily basis, or how quickly we’re running out of natural resources, I don’t really want to read about it either. It makes me feel too scared. Too helpless. Somehow, it’s all just too big.
Many of our clients feel this way, too. They may not identify eco-anxiety as their presenting problem, but that doesn’t mean the effects of climate change aren’t weighing on them. In a 2024 national survey of 2,207 adults conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, two in five respondents said their mental and physical health had been significantly impacted by climate change, with that proportion climbing to 53 percent among young adults ages 18-34.
In this issue, we don’t dwell on the specifics of our environmental crisis or suggest that any one person should be doing any one thing to combat it. We don’t dive into the politics or policies surrounding it. Instead, we focus on fresh therapeutic perspectives on the topic. How can therapists give practical, meaningful support to clients who are suffering the anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems that arise from living through the rapid deterioration of our planet?
The responses we’ve gathered are wide-ranging. Psychologist Thomas Doherty, perhaps the world’s leading eco-therapist, lays out a three-step process to help clients move from helplessness to a place of creativity and agency. Therapist and bestselling author Mary Pipher writes a gripping, personal story about group activism in her hometown. Nedra Glover Tawwab, a specialist on relational boundaries, discusses how to maintain healthy, respectful relationships with those who disagree with us on climate issues. And Dan Siegel, a leading authority on interpersonal neurobiology, shows how to help clients experience their interconnectedness with one another and their environment.
Our hope is that you’ll find the stories here so compelling and constructive that you’ll actually want to read them—even though they’re about climate change. Because, at its core, this issue is about the considerable power of therapists to help people grapple with large global issues, no matter what they are. We can’t work miracles; we know that. But we can inspire more hope, balance, and agency in our clients, which, in turn, can only help the planet.
Livia Kent
Livia Kent, MFA, is the editor in chief of Psychotherapy Networker. She worked for 10 years with Rich Simon as managing editor of Psychotherapy Networker, and has collaborated with some of the most influential names in the mental health field on stories that have become widely read articles and bestselling books. She taught writing at American University as well as for various programs around the country. As a bibliotherapist, she’s facilitated therapy groups in Washington, DC-area schools and in the DC prison system. In 2020, she was named one of Folio Magazine’s Top Women in Media “Change-Makers.” She’s the recipient of Roux Magazine‘s Editor’s Choice Award, The Ledge Magazine‘s National Fiction Award, and American University’s Myra Sklarew Award for Original Novel.
