Keeping Sane in a Changing Climate: Assessing Psychologists’ Preparedness, Exposure to Climate-Health Impacts, Willingness to Act on Climate Change, and Barriers to Effective Action

Abstract

Evidence of the impact of climate change on mental health is growing rapidly, and healthcare professionals are being called to be active participants in protecting the population’s health. Yet, little is known about psychologists’ understanding of climate-health impacts and their role in mitigation actions. We surveyed Australian psychologists (N = 59) to examine preparedness in identifying and managing the impact of climate change on mental health, exposure to climate-health impacts, willingness to act, and barriers to acting on climate change. Data was analysed through descriptive and associative methods. We found that participants are not prepared to identify and manage mental health presentations related to climate change, and they are not engaged in climate change mitigation. We identified that a lack of knowledge of climate-health impacts and tackling and mitigation strategies, in addition to ethical concerns, were the main barriers to engagement with communication and advocacy. With the impacts of climate change on mental health expected to soar, there is a clear and urgent need to prepare the psychological workforce to address this public health issue by establishing professional education programs and reframing climate change as a health crisis.