In January, the Portland metro area was encased in a week-long ice, snow and wind storm that shut down the region. The storm toppled hundreds of massive trees, which in turn crushed cars, felled power poles and lines and split people’s homes in half.

The devastation left many people traumatized and anxious – and reexamining their relationships with trees and with the natural world, said Dr. Thomas Joseph Doherty, a Portland-based psychologist who focuses on helping clients overcome anxieties linked with climate change. On today’s Beat Check podcast, Doherty talked about the mental health impacts and emotional burden of the storm and of climate-related extreme weather events.

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