Dr Rebecca Patrick discusses her research into the links between mental health and climate change and shares her personal experience working in this space. By Claire Crawford

Climate change and mental health concerns are two of the biggest issues we face in the 21st century, and in the space where the two intersect, there is an opportunity to do some innovative work to protect and promote health, Dr Rebecca Patrick says.

Dr Patrick has always had an interest in the nexus between health and environment, and has spent much of her academic career researching in this area. She is a board member and previous president of the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) and is also a co-director of Deakin University’s Health, Nature, Sustainability Research Group.

Dr Patrick’s research has focused on ‘climate-related mental wellbeing’, a two-sided concept. “When we use the term ‘climate-related mental wellbeing’, we recognise the negative impacts of climate change on mental health, but also the agency people have over their mental health and their capacity to recover,” she says.

Dr Patrick noticed this gap in research when first attending university in the 90s, when she could not study health and environment together. Much of her academic career and work with CAHA has been fulfilling that unmet need for the two areas to be linked.

The numbers

Dr Patrick recently led a collaboration between Deakin and Monash universities, with the support of ABC Science Week, to carry out a survey on climate change and mental health with about 5500 participants across Australia.

The survey took place in late 2020 and looked at the presence of mental health concerns related to climate change among Australians, and how they were approaching these concerns. Participants spanned across a broad range of locations, socioeconomic statuses, backgrounds and ages, from 18 and over.

The survey found that around 25% of respondents screened positive for climate-related mental health concerns such as eco-anxiety, pre-trauma or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Young people are experiencing anxiety related to climate change at a significantly higher rate than older groups, with one in five Australian young adults aged 18 to 34 indicating they experience climate-related anxiety.

“Eco-anxiety is a useful way of conceptualizing the impact of fear, anxiety and worry about future environmental changes relating to climate change,” says Dr Patrick. “In contrast to eco-anxiety, pre-trauma symptoms are specifically triggered by an anticipated future image or experience that is intrusive, including patterns of avoidance and symptoms of hypervigilance.”

Sixteen per cent of participants who had not experienced a climate change event (such as drought, fire and flood) met the screening criteria for pre-traumatic stress, and one in four participants with direct experience of a climate change event met the screening criteria for PTSD.

“Meeting the screening criteria does not necessarily mean they have PTSD or pre-trauma, but it does indicate they’re experiencing things that usually indicate it’s there,” Dr Patrick notes.

And with 55% of participants indicating they have directly experienced a climate change event, there is a strong suggestion that many people are saying that climate change is real, they have experienced it, and it is impacting their mental health in some way.

Taking action

Dr Patrick notes there is a positive side to the growing concerns about climate change.

“It’s not only important because it affects their mental health, however. The research also suggests that once you have a direct experience, you are far more likely to be concerned about the issue and take up pro-environmental behaviours.”

Dr Patrick has observed that there are many ways someone can positively address their concerns about environmental issues.

“At a personal level, people can become more informed about the solutions. They can engage more with natural environments and change their lifestyle to be more sustainable. While individual action is not going to turn climate change around on its own, it is a step towards getting a sense of agency.”

Some people cope by working on climate concerns with others. We call these collective strategies, which help create a sense of community and can expand an individual’s sphere of influence. A quarter of participants said they were actively participating in climate debates, whether it be engaging in online conversations or joining protests.

Addressing the issue professionally

Dr Patrick notes that the majority of people surveyed said they are not seeking mental health support as a key coping strategy, but the strong presence of climate-related mental health concerns indicate that the mental health system should be preparing to address the concerns that exist currently, and will most likely continue to grow in the future.

“It is critical that mental health professionals recognise the mental health burden of climate change, and that it is another determinant of mental health that should be in frame, and we should have tools to assess, monitor and treat.”

There is a growing pool of tools and resources to support mental health professionals in this area, Dr Patrick says.

“The Australian Psychological Society has some good resources for having these conversations [about the impacts of climate change on mental health] with children and young people. Psychology for a Safe Climate are training health professionals in working with these issues, looking after their own health and wellbeing needs, and have a directory of climate-aware mental health practitioners.

“Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists are also doing some work in this space. Doctors of Environment Australia have put together a good policy briefing. And, of course, the work CAHA has done in raising awareness of the link between climate and mental health is another good way to keep up to date.”

Dr Patrick also highlights the promise of nature-based solutions. “We are doing some work to look at taking young people into a natural environment and having the counselling conversation in that space, rather than the clinical environment of sitting across a desk. We think walking, talking and being in nature may work better for young people.”

Social media is also a doubleedged sword. It is both a place to link with other people with climate concerns and create collective approaches, but also can be a constant feed about the existential crisis of climate change.

“The way we communicate the impacts of climate change need to be balanced,” Dr Patrick says. “We need to have an understanding that people get flooded with information (and misinformation), and we should make sure information and support resources are available alongside anything we communicate.”

Its also important, Dr Patrick emphasises, that mental health professionals attend to their own mental health and wellbeing when they are often on the frontline, helping people who present with these issues. This includes social media engagement.

“I make sure I use, and am not used by, social media. I use it as a work tool and have gone through patches where I get too consumed by it, which is not healthy. So I recommend setting up clear boundaries with social media engagement, particularly if you’re working in the space.”

The broader picture

Dr Patrick says her own experience with seeking support for her concerns about the broader existential, as opposed to personal, threat of climate change has contributed to her interest in this area. She faces the issue constantly in her dayto-day work, especially on social media.

“I wanted to have a conversation about my worry about climate change because I’ve been working in it for such a long time, and the conversation quickly turned into being about my personal relationships, which didn’t necessarily work for me. So I became interested in what ways of working could support someone presenting with a big picture concern rather than a more immediate sphere of influence.”

Dr Patrick has also been involved in work looking at the drivers of the climate– mental health relationship and looking at what the risk and protective factors are for young people.

This research has uncovered that a lot of drivers stem from bigger picture ‘systems’ issues such as government inaction, capitalism and access to education. This means big picture concerns also need some big picture solutions to support the individual ones, which Dr Patrick and organisations like CAHA are working towards.

“We are now poised for the implementation of a national strategy on climate, health and wellbeing, which CAHA has largely led and the federal government has agreed to implement. Embedded in that framework is an eye to mental health and its impacts.”

“We want to ensure there is intervention at a policy level, at practice level, all the way through to individual actions in the home and community.” ■