‘This is an emergency’ – proposals for a collective response to the climate crisis

Abstract

"Abstract: Earlier this year the UK Government declared a climate emergency. More and more organisations have followed suit, including local councils, universities and some businesses. What does this mean for the psychotherapy profession and how do we meet the threat that is at the heart of the phenomenal field itself? Can we continue with business as usual or do we need to change the figure in conditions that fundamentally change the ground that we have taken for granted? This article explores the threshold moment that we find ourselves in, gives an overview of the current thinking on eco-anxiety, solastalgia and the trauma responses that are connected with the demise of our ecosystem. It proposes that we find ourselves in a malignant state of normality and suggests that we urgently need to develop ways to re-ensoul the culture that is costing us the Earth. It tentatively explores the conditions that may be needed to develop a psychology of the environment and proposes a practical starting point – namely for the international Gestalt community to declare a climate emergency and to attend to the phenomenal field itself. Keywords: climate emergency, eco-anxiety, solastalgia, trauma field, denial, disavowal, shame, soul rebellion, re-wilding, re-ensouling of culture, a psychology of the environment, the ecological self."