According to a study by the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), one in six adults in the UK and over one in three (33%) 18-24 year old respondents reported suffering with eco-anxiety, with 29% having sought help from a counsellor, therapist or medical professional[1]. Children are also struggling with eight in 10 children (78%) saying they are worried about climate change, according to a separate YouGov survey1.
In response to the soaring figures of clients struggling with climate anxiety and in light of the World Climate and Biodiversity Summit currently taking place in New York, BABCP has launched its Changing the Climate Conversation: A CBT approach to addressing the crisis. The report aims to build the practitioner’s confidence in exploring the subject to aid clients that are struggling with climate anxiety.
The guide includes a variety of CBT skills and approaches– from more traditional CBT techniques such as Socratic questions, metaphors, evidence-based techniques to tackle unhelpful thinking styles, to third wave approaches such as mindfulness or radical acceptance found within Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). It also includes suggestions on how to explore climate change with children through creative arts and a climate emotion wheel.
BABCP President Dr Stirling Moorey said: “There is an undeniable increase in clients worried about climate change and they often come to CBT therapists feeling anxious, low or hopeless. This guide is meant to assist practitioners giving them tools to explore the subject of climate change without necessarily being an expert.
“CBT, as an evidence-based therapy, can play a key role in facilitating conversations and mitigating the negative impact that climate change can cause in clients by exploring different strategies including engaging in constructive action, flexibility in thinking, resilience, and acceptance of uncertainty.”
The BABCP Changing the Climate Conversation: A CBT approach to addressing the crisis can be found here: https://babcp.com/guidelines-and-policies/changing-the-climate-conversation/
[1] One in six UK adults suffering with ‘eco-anxiety’, study suggests
