Climate Change and Mental Health - Essential Skills for Mental Health and Primary Care Providers

This 4-session online short course is intended for mental health and primary care providers from anywhere in the world to develop actionable knowledge and skills to enable them to provide psychiatric and psychological treatment and therapeutic support for patients in the context of climate change.

Over four 1.5-hour live online sessions, the class will work through three problem-based learning (PBL) clinical cases together. Each class will begin with a brief presentation from the course instructors, which will be followed by breaking out into PBL teams facilitated by the instructors.

The PBL cases will address 1) biological and pharmacological considerations, such as ambient temperature and airborne pollutants and their effects on mental health; 2) psychotherapeutic considerations for patients struggling in the aftermath of natural disasters or with existential climate distress; and 3) practical sustainable action and advocacy in which mental health and primary care providers can engage to address the root causes of climate change and their own climate distress.

Following completion of the program, participants will be able to:

• Explain how climate change affects mental health and its treatment
• Address the emotional impacts of the climate change crisis and related disasters with appropriate therapies
• Explore the role of mental health and primary care providers in preventing and mitigating climate impacts and promoting resilience

Who is the program for?

• Mental Health Professionals: Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, therapists, psychiatric or mental health nurse practitioners, nurse psychotherapists, pastoral counselors, and more.
• Primary Care Providers: Primary care physicians, pediatricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and others.
• US-based and Global Learners: The short course is fully online so global learners who can attend all three live sessions may enroll.