Introduction: As the climate and ecological emergency (CEE) intensifies, global mitigation efforts fall far short of what is needed to shield us from its impacts. The impact of this on mental health is broad and far reaching, including existential dread, post-traumatic responses to extreme weather events, and distress linked to displacement and conflicts related to increased climate pressures. This constitutes a mental health emergency and increasingly, the mental health community are being called upon to act.
Environmental activism has long been a central component in terms of challenging governments and businesses who are culpable for environmental destruction. Much like some doctors, who have recognised the physical health implications of the CEE and felt called to act, some clinical psychologists are recognising the mental health implications of the CEE as a call to action. Some evidence exists of narratives around clinical psychology which are at odds with activism, such as ideas of being publicly neutral or apolitical, or a prevailing notion of professionalism.
Method: Nine clinical psychologist climate activists participated in semi-structured interviews about the intersections of their climate activism and their profession. Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to explore participant responses.
Results: Five themes with a total of 17 sub-themes were identified. Two themes related to the context of participants’ activism, namely The Nature of the Climate Crisis and the Imperative to Act and Reflections on Being a Clinical Psychologist, whereas three further themes explored the intersection of clinical psychology and climate activism. Participants spoke about Power, The Institutions of Clinical Psychology and the Climate Crisis, in which they described how clinical psychology is ideologically tied to neoliberal capitalism and how this supresses action on climate. Participants also spoke about the ways in which Clinical Psychology and Climate Activism Clash and Cohere, describing a “type” of clinical psychologist who is politically disengaged and not suited to activism and the ways in which clinical psychology can feel like an alienating and isolating place for climate activists, contrasted against a sense that Clinical Psychologists Should be Natural Activists, speaking to a shared ethical root between climate activism and clinical psychology, and a wealth of transferrable skills.
Discussion: Results are placed in historical and current context, attempting to draw a range of practical suggestions for action at the level of the individual, within training programmes and within the institution around clinical psychology. Future directions for research are discussed.
