This toolkit offers guidance on understanding and safely engaging with climate emotions, providing sections on terminology, well-being tips, emotional response tools, and insights on the role of community service organisations (CSOs).
CSOs can enable their staff and communities to transform climate anxiety into proactive action. The climate crisis can trigger emotions like anger, fear, sadness, hope, or guilt, which can either motivate or hinder climate justice action. Research shows that involvement in climate action can help alleviate these emotions.
To effectively support staff and community engagement, CSOs must understand their role in facilitating open discussions about climate emotions. This includes reducing psycho-social risks and promoting mental health literacy through debriefing sessions, support groups, peer networks, self-care, and advocacy.
Trauma-informed practice is essential when engaging with climate justice and resilience work, as it recognises the profound and varied impacts of trauma on individuals and communities. This approach requires understanding how climate-related events—such as natural disasters, displacement, and systemic injustices—compound existing traumas and create new ones. Creating safer and supportive environments that foster trust and address the unique lived experiences of those affected must be prioritised.
Note that for all safe engagement, it is essential to recognise and address power dynamics to ensure that all voices are heard and respected, fostering a safe and inclusive environment for discussion.
This guide has been developed based on the resources from Climate Emotions within this toolkit. The climate emotions resource provides detailed information and links to external sources.
Strategies for safe engagement
1. Understand climate emotions
Familiarise yourself with the Climate Emotions Glossary in the toolkit. Recognise terms like eco-grief, solastalgia, climate anxiety, eco-anger, and eco-depression and use the Climate Emotions tool to better understand and articulate your emotional responses.
2. Prepare yourself emotionally
Before diving into the toolkit:
- Self-awareness: reflect on your current emotional state and capacity to engage with climate issues.
- Grounding techniques & Dadirri: practise grounding techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, or a brief walk to centre yourself.
3. Establish a safer space for group discussion
- Choose an accessible environment: ensure the space is welcoming, inclusive, and free from distractions.
- Set ground rules & group values & Dadirri: if working in a group, agree on ground rules to maintain respect and confidentiality.
- Embrace cultural safety: create environments that respect and nurture Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities, ensuring that cultural safety is central to all interactions.
- Self-education: invest time in learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation to build a foundation for respectful partnerships.
- Build relationships: implement the 3 cuppa tea rule by fostering long-term relationships through informal conversations, prioritising genuine connection over transactional interactions.
Read more:
Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Guide Running Inclusive Meetings, Inclusion Australia
4. Use the Toolkit incrementally
- pace yourself: engage with the toolkit in manageable segments rather than all at once.
- Take breaks: regularly step away to process information and emotions.
- Yarning: engage in yarning sessions that promote two-way learning in culturally safe environments, allowing for deep listening and shared knowledges.
5. Engage with support networks
- Peer support: discuss your feelings and findings with trusted colleagues, friends, or support groups.
- Seek support: reach out to a mental health professional or other trusted support if it feels helpful for your well-being.
Read more:
Peer Supervision Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Framework
6. Employ climate emotions well-being tips
- Action-oriented: engage in positive climate actions to combat feelings of helplessness.
- Limit exposure: take breaks from consuming climate-related content, especially on social media.
- Conversations: talk openly about your feelings with others in safe spaces.
- Physical health: maintain regular physical activity to support mental well-being.
- Focus on solutions: stay informed about positive developments and solutions in climate action.
7. Utilise toolkit resources for emotional support and well-being tips
- Follow the toolkit’s well-being tips to manage climate emotions.
- Coping strategies: explore different coping strategies like meaning-focused, problem-focused, and emotion-focused coping.
- Positive news: engage with topics such as the climate movement, collective action, creative approaches to change, and its impact on balancing the emotional load.
8. Reflect and debrief
- Journaling: keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings as you engage with the toolkit.
- Group debriefing/yarning: if you are in a group, schedule regular debriefing sessions to share experiences and provide mutual support.
Read more:
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), Choosing Therapy
Intentional Peer Support Co-Reflection Guide
9. Build collective care practices
- Community engagement: foster a genuine sense of community and collective care within your group or organisation.
- Shared responsibility: encourage shared responsibility for emotional support and climate action.
10. Develop and follow safety procedures
- Climate emotions safety procedure: collaborate with your group to develop and adhere to a climate emotions safety procedure.
- Supervision groups: establish or join a climate emotions or collective supervision group for ongoing support.
