The daily drip of news about the degradation of the environment is affecting us psychologically. Many of us are becoming increasingly sensitised and anxious about the future of life on Earth. The Australian bushfires have sent a shock wave around the world and, for many, intensified their eco-anxiety. Are the bushfires a wake-up call that will lead to necessary action, or will it soon be back to business as usual? Are we aware of our own psychological coping mechanisms, such as denial and dissociation, and how they help or hinder us when it comes to active engagement? The science is clear: the future of life on Earth is under threat. Do your clients talk about how they feel and are affected by the climate emergency? How does your personal engagement with the issue impact whether and how clients talk about their feelings?
In this interactive talk we will look at how psychologists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts have written about the psychological dimension of the climate crisis. Clinical vignettes will illustrate how eco-anxiety and grief can be integrated into the clinical setting.
There will be time for discussing our internal and external reverberations of this crisis for us and our clients.
Brigitta Mowat is an integrative psychotherapist and supervisor. Alongside her private practice, she runs training groups at the Minster Centre, and is a training supervisor. Brigitta is currently researching psychotherapists’ lived experience of climate change and how it comes up in clinical work. This research project has been approved, and is supported by, the Minster Centre.
CPD CERTIFICATES WILL BE PROVIDED
