Join a Working Committee!
The field of climate psychology is growing, changing and deepening as we come to recognize the varied and layered climate related mental health needs that are arising out of this crisis. Whether we are talking about climate activists, environmental justice activists, climate scientists, climate journalists, environmental educators, high school counselors, psychotherapists, parents, or youth - we know that even as we are all dealing with the climate crisis itself, our experience of and relationship to that crisis varies considerably. This is all the more true, as people also face on-going and adjacent threats related to reproductive freedom, gender policing (anti-trans legislation), housing and income inequity, racism and anti-immigrant policies.
For this reason, as we grow in membership, we are organizing an evolving set of committees in which we begin to explore the intersections between climate related mental issues and certain key topic areas. From these, we plan to offer support, gather articles, create resources, host trainings and collate best practices. In alphabetical order:
This joint committee is exploring ways in which we can draw on our expertise to advocate for legislation and resources oriented around the mental health impacts of climate change to leaders. Check out committee updates here.
Contact: Lise Van Susteren
Agricultural Workers Committee
The Agricultural Workers Committee considers farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers to be on the frontlines of climate change and works to support their mental and emotional health as they navigate the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. With members coming from across several sectors with a wide range of agricultural experience, the committee is currently thinking through adaptation of the Climate Cafe model to serve rural, conservative communities who may not embrace the language of "climate change."
Contact: emily corbiere bates
The Budget Committee
The Budget Committee meets bi-weekly to oversee the CPA-NA budget, review funding requests, provide recommendations to the Executive Committee, and ensure the budget is in alignment with our vision and priorities.
Contact: Mary Lou Masko
Climate and Expressive Arts Committee
This committee will explore the potential of expressive arts in facilitating climate emotional processing, healing and resilience-building, promoting climate engagement, and the power of the creative arts in building community and building "bridges." Modalities include (but are not limited to): Poetry / Writing; Visual art; Music; Dance; Movement; Drama / storytelling; Eco-art therapy. We plan to offer events, discussions, and trainings related to climate, art and mental health.
Contact: Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, Jesse Homan, Mor Keshet
Climate and Psyche Writers Group
This is a writer’s group for CPA members who are developing climate-related articles for psychological and psychoanalytic journals and books. We use an evolving and collaborative structure that is responsive to the needs of participating members (prompts, sharing pages, giving feedback and resources, discussion and support, accountability and goal-setting, as appropriate). Limited membership, commitments required.
Contact: Penelope Starr-Karlin
Clinical Support Committee
This committee helps provide various forms of support for CPA-NA members who are mental health clinicians, including organizing peer clinical case consultation groups, hosting workshops on climate-inclusive therapy, and helping therapists as they navigate the complexities of facing their own climate distress while holding the distress of others.
Contact: Wendy Greenspun
Community Models Committee
The Community Models Committee seeks ways to responsibly redistribute the skills of peer care and support. In addition to plans for more public-facing offerings, our meetings serve as a lab for models we are exploring in our own communities.
Contact: Kate Schapira
Curriculum Development and Workshop Programming
This committee is focused on developing lines of CE credited curriculum related to several different areas of focus: clinical training; clinician-as-activist training; interdisciplinary applications of climate psychology; and the intersection of climate mental health and climate justice. If you would like to join in this work or have ideas you’d like to suggest or offer for a workshop, contact us!
Contact: Kelsey Phillippi
Disaster Committee
We are experiencing cascading climate disasters with greater intensity and frequency which detrimentally impacts mental health and resilience. Our Disaster Committee was launched with the following priorities. 1) Develop training for our members to become knowledgeable about the national disaster mental health system, the disaster continuum, and community-based recovery models. 2) Develop ways to support our membership directly impacted by disaster events. 3) Work with Regional Coordinators to engage and support local response efforts.
Contact: Mary Lou Masko
Educators and School Counselors Support Committee
This committee's focus is supporting teachers and school counselors. We wrote An Educator's Guide to Climate Emotions in 2024 in collaboration with researchers, clinicians, and youth climate leaders. Currently, we are working on disseminating the information from the guide through professional development and workshops for school staff.
Contact: Carolyn McGrath
Professional Development Committee
This committee is focused on developing mentoring programs for clinicians and helping mental health professionals create trainings or presentations on topics related to climate psychology. This group includes clinicians in marginalized and indigenous communities that are often more significantly and chronically impacted by the climate crisis.
Contact: Elizabeth Allured
Research Committee
The Research Committee brings together members who are passionate about advancing knowledge at the intersection of climate, psychology, and lived experience. This committee provides a collaborative space to design, conduct, and share innovative research studies—qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical—that deepen our understanding of the psychological dimensions of the climate crisis.
Our work includes projects such as studies of climate cafés, research on climate emotions, and new theoretical frameworks. The committee also works to strengthen partnerships with universities, organizations, and communities, ensuring that research is inclusive, rigorous, and impactful.
Research Committee members have the opportunity to contribute to innovative research studies, learn from colleagues across disciplines, and help shape the evidence base that informs both clinical practice and public dialogue. Together, we make research a rallying point for action, connection, and transformation.
Contact: Andrew Sears – Andrew Sears
Scientists and STEM Professionals Support Committee
This committee provides a range of support to scientists and STEM professionals who bear the informational and emotional burdens of the climate crisis. We offer programs and events designed to support mental health, alleviate burnout, and build resilience in uncertain times.
Contact: Kristan Childs, Teddy Kellam
Social Justice, Intersectionality and Climate Mental Health Committee
Social Justice is interwoven throughout the organization and it's committees. Additionally we provide a space that focuses specifically on ways in which we are advancing climate justice by developing intersectional trainings and programs for our members. Our work includes recommending policies and procedures to confront systemic racism and inequity within our organization and the broader climate mental health field. Additionally, we are focused on diversifying and expanding services to reach underserved populations who lack access to climate-related mental health support
Contact: Emily Hart Roth
Trauma Informed Climate Journalism Project
This project is meant to address the mental health needs of climate journalists and help them connect better with their sources and with their audience. In this way, we hope not only to provide support for essential front line climate workers, but also impact climate news in such a way that we can reduce news avoidance and foster greater trust and community engagement with climate journalists.
Contact: Rebecca Weston
Youth Committee
We are dedicated to empowering younger generations in the face of climate and environmental crises. We seek to understand and address the bio-psycho-social-environmental impacts of these crises on youth. Our mission is to support the emotional wellbeing of young people, families, and caregivers, as well as provide education, training, consultation, and collaboration for youth related organizations committed to fostering a sustainable, just, and equitable future.
Contact: Jenni Silverstein
Climate Cafe Committees
Climate Cafe Development
The Climate Cafe Development Committee is the group managing all the climate cafe related activities for CPA-NA. This includes the Climate Cafe Facilitator Team (offering trainings on How to Facilitate a Climate Cafe and monthly facilitator support groups), the Public Facing Facilitator Team (offering cafes 2x/mo for the public), training development (like the Deep Dive program), partnerships without outside orgs interested in climate cafes, and resources for climate emotion group facilitation (formerly called the Hub committee).
Moving forward, all this work will be referred to under the heading of the Climate Cafe Development Committee. As we work to coordinate these different efforts, we also have a goal of connecting and collaborating more with the different committees working on climate listening group projects.
Partnerships - Audrey Martin
Deep Dive / Education - Sadie Forsythe
Public facing climate cafes - Cassie Whiteside
Climate Cafe Facilitator Training - Janet Castellini