image credit | Melissa Askew

Season 3, Episode 8: Supporting Young People with Caroline Hickman 

Thomas and Panu were joined by UK therapist and researcher Caroline Hickman. Caroline reflected on her formerly separate backgrounds as an environmentalist and a psychotherapist and pivotal nature experiences she had in midlife as a diving instructor that brought “all the parts of her life together." Caroline, Panu and Thomas discussed their recent activities and collaborations including the groundbreaking 2021 Lancet global survey of young people's climate emotions in ten countries worldwide. This research was powerful, Caroline and Panu explained, as it revealed crucial underlying facets of climate anxiety in youth including a lack of faith in leaders and a sense of betrayal by adults. Caroline also told of her interview studies with children and the fact that kids often know and care more than adults notice. Join us for a candid conversation and an invitation to reflect on what climate feelings tell us about the needs of young people and adults around us.  

Links:

• Caroline Hickman

• Caroline Hickman, Elizabeth Marks, Panu Pihkala et al. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet. 

• Elizabeth Marks & Caroline Hickman. (2023). Eco-distress is not a pathology, but it still hurts. Nature Mental Health. 

• Podcast: Ten years to 1.5°C: how climate anxiety is affecting young people around the world The Conversation (2021)

Transcript

[The Climate Change and Happiness Transcript is on holiday.]