What Mental Health Professionals Can Do About Climate Change

This should not be our response

Despite the enormity and complexity of climate change impacts on mental health, there are things psychiatrists and mental health professionals can do. The public views physicians and health providers as trusted and credible leaders and can therefore be influential.

So what should our response be?

  • Start a discussion group/journal club at your institution, to loop more professionals into climate-aware practices. Request one of our senior members to join and assist, email membershipcoordinator@climatepsychiatry.org.

  • Register as a climate-aware therapist

  • Give a talk at your institution, district branch meeting, etc. We can provide materials, mentorship, guidance, and even partnership with an accomplished speaker.

  • Do some writing for trade journals such as Psych News, Psych Times; peer-reviewed journals; mainstream media, etc.

  • Green your practice: free membership in My Green Doctor to CPA members.

  • Donate: as with so many groups, we have meager financial resources. Your contributions go a long way to helping us grow. Consider a regular monthly or quarterly donation.

There are things that we, as professionals, can do to maximize good health outcomes for our patients, families, and communities.

Health care providers, including psychiatrists, can have an impact at multiple levels, including in how they conduct individual patient management, help develop systems of care and advocate on behalf of public health policy.

Individual Patient Management

As physicians and providers, we are the first line in keeping our patients safe and healthy during the inevitable extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change. This is a focus on direct clinical care and derives from the doctor/caregiver-patient relationship model and principles of clinical practice.  

What we can do at the patient-care level:

  • Teaching patients and families about climate-related health risks and protective behaviors, especially regarding heat exposure and flood and storm protection in vulnerable areas  

  • Effectively managing psychiatric medications to reduce risk

  • Treating specific psychiatric syndromes associated with climate-related traumas

  • Teaching patients and families about individual resiliency behaviors, such as transformational resilience.

  • Consider psychotherapeutic techniques for patients who present with eco-anxiety

  • Utilize colleagues and peer consultation groups, especially to reflect on secondary trauma that therapists experience and countertransference

Prepare our Agencies and Practices

  • Plan for closer monitoring of vulnerable populations; Engage caregivers, case managers, visiting nurses, family members, etc

  • Help patients, families, and staff at residential institutes and day centers develop emergency plans including plans for respite shelters during extreme weather events

  • Identifying what your agency/practice needs regarding health record systems and information retrieval, and operating during emergency periods

  • Agency and practice leaders and administrators create a culture of attention to climate-related health interventions, providing regular staff training prior to periods of greatest vulnerability and identifying roles of staff members for safety plans.

Help Develop A Systems Of Care

This focus derives from a community mental health/public health model with attention to community and population health, safety and resiliency.  Components include prevention and community preparedness as well as community disaster response and recovery.  We can work to improve the readiness of community and mental health systems to respond effectively and quickly to emergencies requiring prior planning, coordination and capacity building.  

How we can help at the systemic level:

  • Building collaborative relationships between mental health and health agencies and community groups, including public health departments, schools, churches and synagogues, recreational centers, libraries, and homeless services.

  • Developing systems of responsiveness:  Who alerts vulnerable people/patients?  What plans are in place to direct vulnerable people/patients to areas of safety? 

  • Planning specifically for the homeless population

  • Supporting public health educators in developing and implementing community education strategies

  • Educating and coordinating with first responders (police, fire department, and local emergency departments)

  • Developing mental health disaster response plans and training: SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster Response training modules available.

    • Note: The scope of disaster preparedness and response may be beyond the skills of many practicing psychiatrists. All communities have Disaster Preparedness Plans usually within the Department of Public Health where useful sources of information and guidance may be found.

  • Training in Psychological First Aid

  • Providing consultation to community leaders on effective communication during acute disasters with emphasis on Psychological First Aid principles.

  • Training in media skills, so as to develop effective community communication

Advocate On Behalf of Public Health

Join the Joint Advocacy & Outreach Committee of Climate Psychiatry Alliance and Climate Psychology Alliance of North America

The Climate Psychiatry Alliance and Climate Psychology Alliance of North America established a Joint Advocacy & Outreach Committee in 2021. The committee, which is chaired by Dr. Lise Van Susteren, is composed of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers who work in the United States. 

Overall committee goals:

  • Advocate for policies and programs addressing climate change and mental health in the public and private sectors.

  • Communicate with the public about policies and programs related to climate change and mental health.

  • Educate and train other mental health professionals on policies, programs, and advocacy related to climate change and mental health.

Current Committee Work

Much of the committee’s current work is focused on advocacy to state and local governments. Committee members take the lead on advocacy in their own localities, with the support and guidance of the broader committee. Highlights of recent efforts include:

  • Meetings in 2023 with leaders in Massachusetts, including the Climate Chief, Cabinet officers, Senate President, and other elected and appointed officials. These meetings took place while the new administration of Gov. Maura Healey was developing new climate change policies and programs. 

    To learn about the topics covered in these meetings, see our initial letter to the Climate Chief and follow-up letters to Senators and Cabinet secretaries.

  • In the District of Columbia, we provided testimony to the DC Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency and the DC Council, advocated for inclusion of climate change in continuing education for health professionals, and made presentations to various health and environmental groups.

    See our testimony (and slides) to the Commission and letter to the Director of the Department of Health.

  • In New York State, we have met with several elected officials and are planning a larger meeting with legislators and a press event for the public for early 2025. Our goal is to increase understanding of the mental health dimensions of climate change and encourage legislative action in this area.

  • In Pennsylvania we are working to educate local health officials and professionals about the mental and behavioral health impacts of climate change. See slides for presentations made in Lehigh County in July 2024 and November 2024.

  • Advocacy in Connecticut, including testimony to the state legislature and communications with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

  • Recommendations made in 2022 to the transition team for the incoming administration of Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland. 

If you are a mental health professional interested in advocacy, communications, and education about climate change, please contact the chair, Dr. Lise Van Susteren (lvs350@me.com), about becoming a member of the committee (cite "Advocacy & Outreach" in the subject line).

Further information on advocacy and communications about climate change and mental health can be found under the resources section here.

Additional contact information:
Joint Advocacy & Outreach Committee
1609 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009

Email: Dr. Lise Van Susteren (lvs350@me.com)