Standard Presentation 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

'Safe spaces' and community building for climate scientists – understanding and processing climate anxiety (#532)

Joe Duggan 1
  1. Australian National University, Kambah, ACT, Australia

Environmental scientists are acutely aware of the increasing dangers posed by the climate crisis, and this professional awareness is linked to raised levels of climate anxiety. This research explores climate anxiety in a group of climate researchers before exploring group therapy as a tool for creating a safe space. Results suggest that group therapy may provide positive and cathartic experiences for environmental scientists through sharing emotions and experiences with peers, both about the challenges of their professional lives and difficulties in processing feelings about their work subjects and the climate crisis. Further, results indicate that participants benefited from sharing strategies for coping with the emotional toll of the climate crisis.