SAMHSA DTAC April 2024 Bulletin: Coping With Behavioral Health Impacts of Climate Change
SAMHSA DTAC DBH
Rising seas, severe flooding, drought, wildfires, and other natural disasters are threatening more communities as the world’s climate changes at an accelerated rate, causing damage to life and property and affecting mental health. Understanding climate change and its impacts on mental health can help individuals, communities, first responders, and other healthcare and mental health providers better understand and tailor their responses to behavioral health issues that arise as people experience climate change and its effects on their environment. The American Counseling Association has found that the changing climate impacts mental health in three ways: 1) thinking about climate change can cause ecological and eco-anxiety in addition to despair and hopelessness; 2) existing mental health issues may be amplified during climate change or climate change-fueled disasters; and 3) mental health issues can be caused directly by climate change in survivors of floods, fires, drought, excessive heat, or displacement because of disasters.
The resources below explore strategies, key information, and important next steps for behavioral health professionals, individuals, and communities impacted by climate change-related disasters.
Climate Change and Trauma
Developed by the International Society for Traumatic Stress
Studies, this website has a podcast, recommendations for public health
research, a fact sheet, advice on how to respond to climate change as a
public health emergency, and additional information on community
resilience and mental health in the face of climate change.
The American Psychiatric Association provides education and
resources on this website for individuals, communities, and disaster
planners. The site reviews how heat, air pollution, infectious disease,
and nutrition are being impacted by climate change and how this affects
mental health. Resources provided include the U.S. Climate Resilience
Toolkit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index,
online information from SAMHSA, and many other items.
This podcast was created by the U.S. Surgeon General and
features clinical psychologist and trauma specialist Dr. Rosaura
Orengo-Aguayo. In this episode, Dr. Orengo-Aguayo talks about how she
helped thousands of people in Puerto Rico with Psychological First Aid,
how we can respond to children experiencing trauma from natural
disasters, and how our mental health is impacted by natural disasters
that are becoming stronger due to climate change.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program made this detailed
guide on how to build resilience to climate change repercussions. Aimed
at individuals and communities, this toolkit has national projections,
funding opportunities, a climate explorer, and customizable search
options for local and regional organizations. It also offers education on
possible climate hazards, case studies, and informational videos.
If you have any questions or if you would like additional information, please reach out to the SAMHSA DTAC team at 1-800-308-3515 or via e-mail at dt...@iqsolutions.com.