Advisory Circle
Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.
Bonnie holds two master’s degrees, one in psychology from Sonoma State University, and a second in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she also earned her PhD. Bonnie created Depth Insights and served as its Executive Editor for six years; She is the Founder and Director Emeritus of Depth Psychology Alliance. Her doctoral dissertation focused on Colony Collapse Disorder and the psychological implications of the destruction of “home.” Bonnie is the author of Earth, Climate, Dreams: Dialogues with Depth Psychologists in the Age of the Anthropocene (2019).
“The way in which we each contribute to the challenges we perceive in the world around us is indelibly related to the extent to which we are aware of the interconnectedness of all things. When we truly recognize and honor the hidden spiritual dimension in nature (and human nature), our longing to love and tend to those who inhabit the world, will never cease to grow.”
Susan Bodnar, Ph.D.
Susan is a New York City-based clinical psychologist trained in relational psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioral therapy, with over twenty years of professional experience. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical and Counseling Psychology at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Amongst her academic journal and popular media publications, she has written clinical papers and book chapters examining the relationships between people and their physical environments. She is an Associate Editor for Psychoanalytic Dialogues and an editorial board member of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Click here to read a sample of Susan’s writing.
“My environmental awareness developed on the highest mountains, in the deepest forests and along the starkest trails. We not only live here, we are part of these landscapes. What we do to our ecosystems is what we do to ourselves. I am dedicated to their protection.”
Bob Doppelt, Ph.D.
Bob is the Coordinator of the International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC), a global network of mental health, social service, emergency management, climate, faith, and other professionals who are working to build human resilience in the climate emergency. He is trained in both counseling psychology and environmental science, and has combined the two fields throughout his career. Bob is also a long-time mindfulness teacher (Spirit Rock Meditation Center) and a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor. Bob is the author of a number of books on the interface between ecological health/wellbeing and personal, group, and social change; his latest is Transformational Resilience: How Building a Culture of Human Resilience Can Safeguard Society and Increase Wellbeing (2016).
Andy Fisher, Ph.D.
A leading scholar in the field of ecopsychology, Andy is the author of Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life (2nd ed.). Andy keeps up a regular schedule of writing, mentoring, and teaching, including his annual year-long training in ecopsychology near his forest home in eastern Ontario. Andy is also a psychotherapist in private practice, and a wilderness rites-of-passage guide.
Website: www.andyfisher.ca
Click here to read a piece of Andy’s writing.
“The questions I ask these days: How can ecopsychology be most adequate to this historical moment? What form must the field take in order to be relevant or up to the extraordinary social and ecological challenges of our times? As I mull these questions, I continue to work away in my community and the wider world, using my gifts as best as I can, mindful of the seasons going round.”
Renée Lertzman, Ph.D.
Renée is a practitioner whose work bridges psychodynamic research and environmental issues. She has developed trainings for those working in environmental change, including scholars and researchers. Presenting internationally, her work has been featured in The Guardian and the BBC in the UK, and also in a variety of US sources. She is the author of Environmental Melancholia: Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Engagement.
Donna Orange, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Donna is educated in philosophy, clinical psychology, and psychoanalysis, and teaches at NYU Postdoc. Recent books are Thinking for Clinicians (2010), The Suffering Stranger: (2011), Nourishing the Inner Life of Clinicians and Humanitarians (2016) and Climate Crisis, Psychoanalysis, and Radical Ethics (2017). She was a Fulbright Scholar at the Freud Museum in Vienna, and she is working on Learning to Hear: Psychoanalysis, History, and Radical Ethics.
“We psychotherapists can help to overcome climate unconsciousness by learning to hear the cries of those most affected by this emergency. We can support each other in finding courage and creativity to respond.”
Harriet Shugarman
Harriet is the Executive Director of ClimateMama, an online community that reaches audiences in over 110 countries and all 50 states. As a leader and mentor with the Climate Reality Project, she serves as the Chair of the NYC Metro Chapter and was the recipient of the 2017 Green Ring Award presented by Al Gore for “exceptional” climate leadership. Harriet is an economist, policy analyst, educator, and adjunct professor. Click here to read a piece of Harriet’s writing.
“As this climate crisis of our making relentlessly continues to envelope our lives, the role of “climate psychologist” will remain critical to our current and future well being; not only to help us cope but also to find the strength and determination to continue to live our lives fully and with purpose.”
Susan Spieler, Psy.D.
Susan is a clinical psychologist/psychoanalyst treating adolescents and adults in Manhattan. As Director of Continuing Education at a psychoanalytic institute in NYC, she developed programs for mental health professionals about climate psychology and about race and psychoanalysis. As a member of NYC’s Resilience and Emotional Support Team, she provided mental health services to evacuees after Superstorm Sandy. She was Coordinator of NYC Grassroots Alliance for three years, where she organized monthly educational climate events for the public. She has presented psychoanalytic papers about climate change engagement at international psychoanalytic conferences. She is on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at a NYC meditation center. Her current writing focus is climate and social justice.
“BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) are impacted more than white people by our Global Climate Emergency because of systemic racism. White mental health professionals need to learn more about systemic racism.”
Anthony Wilson, R.S.W.
Anthony Wilson, R.S.W., is a private practice clinical social worker and psychotherapist in Toronto. With over 40 years in the field, his experience includes individual, couple, and group psychotherapy. He is a guest member of the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, and has presented papers on the interface of the environmental crisis and psychotherapy at international psychoanalytic conferences in Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Website: anthonyrankinwilson.com
“As I age in the dawning troubled Anthropocene, I hear the Youngers, and the Not-Yet-Borns, ask: “Did you know?” and “What did you do if you did?” Haunting questions through which I simultaneously awaken and lose sleep, all the while summoning the reminder to cultivate daily familiarity with the gardens of daily gratitude, beauty, loss, and wonder.”