A psychologist from Portland, Oregon and a climate emotions researcher from Helsinki, Finland have an international dialogue about climate change feelings and coping.
Saudade, solastalgia, ikegai, dugnad, pura vida, weltschmertz, hyper-object, hyper-empathy, thumos, ubuntu, awe, riittämättömyyden tunne, sisu, hope… Welcome to the language of Climate Change and Happiness, an international podcast that explores the personal side of climate change — your feelings, what the crisis means for you, and how to cope and thrive.
This is a show for people around the globe who are thinking deeply about the personal side of climate change and their mental health and wellbeing. Clinical and environmental psychologist Thomas Doherty and climate emotions scholar Panu Pihkala talk about their research, and experiences as individuals and parents. They model how to cope with climate stress and build capacity for hope and happiness. They invite guests and consider your questions.
Subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher and iHeartRADIO. Meet your hosts below.
HOSTS
Thomas Doherty | Portland, Oregon
Clinical Psychologist, therapist, researcher, parent
Thomas is a clinical and environmental psychologist from Portland, Oregon, USA. His writings on nature and mental health include the groundbreaking paper “The Psychological Impacts of Global Climate Change,” co-authored with Susan Clayton, cited over 1000 times. Thomas is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Past President of the Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology, and was the founding Editor of the academic journal Ecopsychology. Thomas served on the APA’s first Task Force on Global Climate Change and founded one of the first environmental-focused training programs for mental health counselors in the US. He is from Buffalo, New York.
You can learn more about Thomas at his website and blog.
Find him @selfsustainpdx
Panu Pihkala | Helsinki, Finland
Researcher, writer, lecturer, climate emotions scholar
Panu [pronouncing: as in French pas nous – well, he comes from Finland] is an interdisciplinary environmental scholar from Helsinki, Finland. He has a history with religion, and is an adjunct professor and docent of environmental theology at the University of Helsinki. Panu has led workshops about eco-anxiety and difficult eco-emotions since 2010. He has two popular books about eco-emotions in Finnish and was author of the widely discussed Lancet study about young people and climate anxiety in 2021. In early 2022, he published an overview of climate emotions.
Some of his practical materials are found in his blog. You can also check out this interview with Panu by Dr. Krista Hiser.
Find him @panupihkala
ABOUT OUR LOGO
Hands heal and soothe; teach and guide. Hands help and build. The heart represents compassion and caring while the celebratory bird in flight symbolizes freedom and health, and a planet where all living things thrive. Each word (including the word ‘and’) allows for individual interpretation; the term ‘Climate Change’ takes on a slightly different meaning from what we’re used to.
TEAM
Marc Rose Fuse Audio Design | Audio Production
Andrea Janda | Web Content Manager
Isabel Coppola, Fulbright Finland Foundation Student Grantee, 2021-22 | Intern, Thesis
Jeff Pollard POLLARDdesign| Logo
Sam A. Mowry The Voice of Sam | Opening Narration