More than a third of Americans say they feel anxious, afraid, or hopeless about global warming, according to a 2025 survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications.
“It's becoming much more of a threat,” according to Marion Belanger, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Guilford. “It's not like in the future so much. It's here and people are living with it.”
Belanger is also a ‘climate-aware’ therapist. The term refers to a professional psychotherapist who recognizes that climate change poses both a physical and mental threat to a person’s well-being, according to Climate Psychology Alliance North America (CPA-NA).
More than 400 climate-aware therapists in the United States are listed in the CPA-NA’s online directory, with 10 based in Connecticut.
Belanger joined CPA-NA three years ago when she noticed more patients talking about climate change.
“I remember like, 2016, this was not part of the conversation as much,” Belanger said. “It has grown as the science has grown.”
Belanger says this summer has been a coping test as news of floods in Texas and wildfires in Los Angeles have dominated headlines.
“It's just been kind of non-stop,” Belanger said. “Learning to balance a sense of hope with a sense of distress is one of the biggest challenges.”
How climate change can affect mental health
Climate can affect mental health in different ways. Those who’ve been directly impacted by natural disasters such as flooding, hurricanes or fires, can experience post-traumatic stress, shock, anxiety, depression and more, according to the American Psychological Association.
Others, living with the worsening effects of climate change, like smog or poor air quality, may experience unease.
“This sort of chronic feeling of the world is not an enjoyable and safe place anymore and I don't know what I'm breathing in and I don't know what's in my water,” said Suzanne Davino, a clinical psychologist and climate-aware therapist in Ridgefield.
Some patients may also feel guilty and think their actions could be contributing to the problem.
“I met patients who were worried about eating too much, wondering if they were worthy of the resources that they were taking up,” Davino said.
How to cope
As of right now, there is no empirically validated treatment protocol for climate therapy, according to Davino. But researchers are studying how different forms of therapy, including an off-shoot of cognitive behavioral therapy called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), can help.
“The basic tenet for acceptance and commitment therapy is that you can’t change so many things in life,” Davino said.
In her practice, Davino uses a mix of ACT and dialectical behaviour therapy.
“And if you’re so busy trying to control what’s outside of you and make the world a perfect place, then it can really prohibit action.”
Instead, ACT encourages acceptance of what’s beyond someone’s control and guides patients to make decisions based on their personal values.
Davino further explained by mentioning a hypothetical scenario where someone may be apprehensive about becoming a parent due to the impacts of climate change.
“A child born today is going to have microplastics in the breast milk and plastics in their brain, and they’re going to have a much warmer world to live in, and they’re going to have climate emergencies,” Davino said.
But she cautioned that there is another way of looking at the situation.
“There will also be a life worth living for children born today, if you can accept that it’s not like the seemingly idyllic past that children had before,” Davino said.
The same form of therapy could help someone choose not to have children if that future image doesn’t align with their values.
“Some people’s answer to that would be ‘I don't feel comfortable having a child and leaving them this legacy,’ and that’s their value,” Davino said.
The best treatment options validate emotions, provide tools to stop them from becoming overwhelming, and help people connect meaningfully with others who are doing something to address global warming, according to Rebecca Weston, co-executive director of Climate Psychology Alliance North America.
“That sense of community and relationship is both healing its own right and true to the reality that this problem can only be addressed collectively,” Weston said.
Taking part in collective actions has proven to help climate anxiety. In 2022, a study of college students, led by the Yale School of Public Health, showed those who took part in collective environmental actions, like participating in an environmental advocacy group, were less likely to develop symptoms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness and sadness.
Other collective actions like community gardening, protesting, starting your own climate-aware group or spending more time in nature can help, according to Belanger, who’s seen patients have success with joining and leading climate cafes - online or in-person spaces where people gather to share their feelings on climate change.
“You don’t have to be a therapist to do that. It’s about holding space and that has been very helpful to them,” Belanger said.
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member who covers the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public.
