‘There’s no helpline’: how mental health services can support young people with climate distress

Abstract

Climate distress in young people is very likely to increase in coming years, and young people’s mental health services need to be prepared to meet the demand. This paper reports a qualitative pilot study to establish the views of three stakeholder groups involved in youth mental health counselling services in England: young people, mental health counsellors, and strategic partners. We find broad agreement amongst youth mental health service users and providers that climate distress comprises a range of emotional responses to climate change, including anxiety, hopelessness, isolation, guilt and injustice, exacerbated by developmental, social and informational contexts. Service providers can support young people by surfacing, validating, and channelling these emotional responses, but they themselves need training and support to do this effectively.

Keywords

• Climate distress
• climate anxiety
• eco-anxiety
• young people
• mental health services