Reclaiming hope in the midst of global uncertainty. Climate-aware therapy in Texas, Ohio, & Colorado.
EcoWellness
“As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Climate Crisis is a Mental Health Crisis
Do you worry about the future? Do you feel like the weight of the world is literally pressing down on you? Maybe you feel like something is missing, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. Do you crave a deeper connection with nature?
Maybe you’re feeling the pressure of trying to plan for the future in the face of climate change and are left anxious, wondering what the world is even going to look like in a few years.
You aren’t alone in these fears.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of modern time. Warming temperatures, melting icecaps, natural disasters, and threats to our necessary resources are everywhere you look. Yet, despite this, the impacts of climate change on our mental and emotional health are so often overlooked or ignored.
Our world is changing and it’s impossible not to worry about what this means for yourself, your loved ones, and future generations.
Maybe you’ve noticed how calm you feel when you get some fresh air or feel the sunshine on your face. Maybe you’re an avid indoor plant parent already, but haven’t considered exactly what it is about being surrounded by nature that feels so restorative.
Connection with nature can be a key factor in our overall wellness and healing. We are a part of nature, we don’t exist separately from it, so it makes sense that mending our relationship with our environment would inevitably lead to healing; mental, physical, and spiritual.
Impacts of climate change on mental health might look like…
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Eco-Anxiety
Chronic fear or worry that results from observing the impacts of climate change, often accompanied by distress over the uncertainty of what the future holds.
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Trauma
Climate change can cause direct exposure to trauma through things like natural disasters. This could include physical harm, uprooted or displaced communities, or loss of access to resources.
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Harm to Physical Health
Poor air quality, increased exposure to pollution, or bodily harm after a natural disaster can all exacerbate existing mental health conditions or lead to new ones.
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Disrupted Social Connections
If our physical environment is damaged, our connection to our community may change or disappear, our economic opportunities on the land might diminish, and our ability to prioritize socialization may become much more difficult.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
I’m here to help you get rooted in the present and plant seeds of hope for tomorrow.
Identify Your Concerns
Climate change impacts each of us, but it does so in different ways. When we first get to know each other, we will identify your unique concerns and the ways that eco-anxiety or environmental trauma has impacted you. Then we’ll work together to decide on our counseling goals.
Dig In
Whether you’re here to learn to cope with climate anxiety, or you just want to improve your relationship with the natural world, we will incorporate the Reese EcoWellness Inventory into our work to get a better understanding of your current EcoWellness and how we can start to strengthen it.
Connect with Nature
Whether it’s bringing nature into our sessions or taking our sessions out into nature, we’ll begin to identify realistic, accessible ways for you to start feeling the benefits of a more robust relationship with the environment. EcoWellness work can be incorporated into any of the other services I offer, and the focus can either be specifically on EcoWellness, or we can use this as an additional component of other modes of therapy.
Common questions about EcoWellness counseling and Eco-Anxiety:
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The concept of EcoWellness was first developed by Dr. Ryan Reese. According to his research, “EcoWellness is the perceived sense of wellness one experiences through their connection with nature.” More information about EcoWellness and the research behind it can be found at Dr. Reese’s website: ecowellnessbend.com
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The American Psychological Association defines eco-anxiety as “a chronic fear of environmental doom” or “anxiety or worry about climate change and its effects.”
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Absolutely! We are all a part of nature, and because of this, our relationship with nature impacts all other parts of our wellness, whether we are aware of it or not. EcoWellness is just one component on our Wheel of Wellness, and whether you want to focus on improving this area specifically or want to focus on something else, we can still find ways to improve your EcoWellness as a part of that work.
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