When Climate Anxiety Enters the Therapy Room: Clinicians Report Lower Confidence,Less Willingness to Help,and Greater Distress

Abstract

The present study assessed the impact of exposure to a climate-related anxiety vignette, presented as part of a simulated clinical encounter. In total, 150 mental health care professionals were randomly assigned to read one of three vignettes in which a client describes either death anxiety, climate change anxiety, or social anxiety (control). They then completed measures of affect, perceptions of the client, defensiveness of professional identity, and environmental attitudes. ANCOVAs were run to compare outcomes across conditions, controlling for their level of nature connectedness. Clinicians who read the climate vignette reported lower confidence in their ability to help the client and lower desire to work with the client, compared with those responding to the social anxiety vignette. Furthermore, those exposed to the climate vignette reported significantly higher negative affect, compared with those exposed to the death and social anxiety vignette. Findings draw attention to the uniqueness of climate change-related distress as a presenting problem and suggest that mental health care providers may benefit from additional training and reflective practice when working with clients dealing with this shared threat.