So many us over the last few decades have become increasingly aware of and distraught by the impact of human-caused climate change. We are watching our ecosystems collapse before our eyes and we have no road map for how to proceed. We feel ineffective and overwhelmed with a tragedy of this scale, and those who lead us are some of the best at avoiding the emotional and ecological impact and many of us feel powerless without them.

Up until very recently, the mental health field has mostly stayed out of the emotional work of climate change. But what gives me and other mental health providers hope is that some of the biggest impediments to ecological success, like feelings of fear, avoidance, dread and inactivity are emotions! This is why mental health providers have a uniquely important role in supporting humans through the emotional climate collapse. Our work is to help ourselves and our communities heal and grow through this overwhelming moment. To become experts and skillful practitioners of the process of grief.

This presentation proposes that our work is to sit more with climate change emotions instead of avoiding them. And the paramount climate collapse emotion is grief. This is because grief is really a way to love something that you could or are losing. It proposes that climate change is an extension of capitalism which is an extension of colonialism. We’ve been taught to feel like we have no choice but to choose capitalism and apathy over love and connection. This training proposes that if colonialism is the vehicle to climate collapse then grief and love are its antidotes.

This is a recorded webinar from November 13, 2023, from 6-8 PM Central Time. If you attend the entire presentation and answer a brief survey, you will receive 2 CE credits.