Compassion-focused approaches to understanding the mental health of climate scientists

Calabria, Luis, Peters, Charlotte and Williams, Marc 2024. Compassion-focused approaches to understanding the mental health of climate scientists. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist 17 , e34. 10.1017/S1754470X23000223

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Abstract

As we face a future of rising global temperatures, and associated extreme weather events, distressing emotional responses are understandable. Climate scientists comprise a unique group, in that they must regularly confront the reality, and consequences, of climate change. In this paper, we explore how the principles of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) might be applied to comprehend the responses of climate scientists to climate change; by doing so, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of these responses in order to consider fruitful avenues for providing support and investigating this area further. We consider how flows of compassion, and blocks to compassion, might play a role in climate scientists’ experiences. Additionally, we conceptualise a role for compassion towards the wider world and humanity more broadly. Finally, by applying the CFT Three Systems model to current understanding of climate scientists’ emotional experiences, we seek to proffer a potential conceptualisation of them.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	1754-470X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 October 2023
Date of Acceptance:	29 September 2023
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2024 10:35
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162876

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