The Climate Crisis and Mental Health

Program description: 

The increasing climate crisis is substantially impacting mental health, causing climate anxiety, depressive symptoms, and ecological grief. While maintaining our emotional wellness is difficult in the face of an escalating crisis, doing so is imperative for both our own well-being as well as for our ability to take effective action. In this workshop, climate-aware therapist Marilee Feldman will outline how our cultural response to the crisis is impacting us, discuss the symptoms of climate anxiety and ecological distress, and outline a pathway to climate resilience. The presentation will be followed by professionally facilitated  small group discussions. 

Speaker Bio:

Marilee Feldman, LCPC, is Illinois Regional Co-Coordinator for Climate Psychology Alliance, a group of mental health professionals working to educate the public and mental health professionals about the impact of the climate crisis on mental health. She is the Founder of Life Counseling Institute, a worker-owned private practice co-op located in Willowbrook and Park Ridge. 

Group facilitators: 

Libby Bachhuber, LCSW, provides psychoanalytic psychotherapy and supervision through her independent practice in Chicago.  She is a member of the regional team for the Climate Psychology Alliance, and has facilitated reflective processes on collective concerns with a range of groups, including activists, elementary school teachers, and college students.

Eric Bjorlin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist based in Chicago. He is a member of the regional team for the Climate Psychology Alliance and has facilitated groups of all shapes and sizes as a camp counselor, service learning facilitator, anti-racism trainer, and therapist.