EMDR Therapy Quarterly

Introduction

The deepening climate crisis will bring with it increasing levels of individual exposure to both direct and personal trauma as a result of weather-induced catastrophes and also anticipatory fear and ‘eco-anxiety’ among the wider population. With its experience and expertise in the treatment of trauma, the EMDR profession will be in a potentially valuable position to offer support.

In commissioning this survey, the authors were not aware of any current published research around EMDR with climate anxiety and trauma, and very little was known about attitudes towards the climate crisis among EMDR therapists or their experience of working with these issues with clients.

This survey was designed to fill that gap, providing a baseline measurement of current attitudes and skills. Specifically, the survey examined therapists’ own concerns and attitudes towards the climate crisis, their experience of this with their clients and their perceived need for training or support from their associations in this area.

Methods

Data was collected in 2023 using an online survey, distributed to members of the EMDR Association UK, and advertised on other EMDR platforms where those not formally affiliated with an association could also be sampled.

The data was analysed using a mixed methods analysis. In addition to reporting the quantitative data on closed questions, there was one open-ended question: “Please tell us more about your thinking about this issue and its relevance to EMDR.” The responses provided a good deal of qualitative data, which was explored using thematic analysis.

Results

The following themes came out of the analysis:

• Beliefs about the climate crisis (its severity or existence)
• The extent to which the climate crisis came into therapy
• How to work with the climate crisis in therapy
• What the institutional response to the climate crisis should be.

Of the 232 therapists who answered the survey, the majority were either worried or very worried about the climate crisis. A small proportion were not worried at all. On how much individuals knew about the science of the climate crisis, responses were clearly weighted towards more knowledge than less, but a very significant majority confirmed that the climate crisis is not discussed in their work. Asked whether they personally believe the climate crisis can be solved, responses were spread relatively evenly between optimism and pessimism, with a large central spike in the central band of uncertainty. See figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Survey responses on climate change

Free text responses

Among free-text responses expanding on 0-100 Likert scales, 21 of those very concerned about the climate crisis spoke of political and economic interests behind the crisis.

This is the biggest issue of our age and causes huge distress and anxiety… The hardest thing is the slight hope that something can be done, combined with the corruption and greed at the heart of our capitalist societies.

Nine respondents were not concerned about the climate crisis or thought it was a conspiracy.

I believe the climate crisis is fear mongering. – This fake story is not relevant to EMDR.

Five respondents acknowledged that the climate crisis was happening and that: “Things are getting worse.” A further five respondents commented that people will mostly ignore the climate crisis until it affects them. Perhaps surprisingly, the survey revealed that although most therapists are concerned about the climate crisis, very few are addressing it in the therapy room.

Therapists answered a multiple-choice question, offering the following options and space to add their own thoughts:

• I wait for clients/patients to raise it themselves
• I might mention it briefly alongside other current challenges (e.g., the cost-of-living crisis, armed conflicts, etc.)
• I do not believe it’s appropriate for me to initiate a discussion of the climate change in therapy
• I proactively take opportunities to raise the issue of climate change.

See figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Raising the climate crisis in sessions

As the chart shows, a majority, nearly 40% of therapists wait for their clients to raise the issue themselves. A significant number, nearly 33%, might mention the issue briefly alongside other immediate personal issues, while approaching 20% do not believe it appropriate to raise this proactively. Just 13 out of 232, or less than 6%, proactively raise the issue with clients. What scientists and the United Nations now make clear is that this is the most pressing crisis possibly ever to face our species. (Intergovernmental Panel on The climate crisis, 2021a, 2021b; Harvey, 2021; Moses, 2020).

Individual answers to why the climate crisis was not addressed in therapy (full answers may be obtained from the authors)

My approach is client-led. The complex PTSD clients I see regularly are struggling with past trauma, and adding climate change appears to add to their levels of anxiety.

It has never come up from clients, and I would not have a problem mentioning it as one of the world crises, but I do not talk about something I do not believe is happening

I do not feel EMDR can help address eco-distress/climate anxiety

In my experience, the cohort of people in general who are worried about the climate crisis to the extent that it affects their mental health is still relatively small. I don’t come across it in my practice, and I think if patients bring it up themselves, I would provide EMDR. However, this has not happened yet

It’s not something that comes up as there are more pressing areas they (clients) wish to work on

If clients are already distressed, it feels insensitive to bring up something else for them to worry about

A further eight respondents said that their own feelings around the climate crisis were so strong that they found it overwhelming:

It’s traumatic thinking of the world’s decline and ruining the children’s future. I sometimes wonder what’s the point of therapy when the world is in decline, and I think there is huge relevance, but personally, I find the issue so distressing it is paralysing, as I find it very difficult to see any hope.

Sixteen participants were already working with climate issues, including the use of EMDR. There was a suggestion that “stabilisation and resourcing are hugely important in helping all of us to move out of disavowal and shut down and try to ‘feel the feelings’.” One respondent found it helpful to show hope with psychoeducation about positive things taking place, and another found the flash forward technique useful.

Five respondents said that they bridged back from the feeling of disempowerment and/or anxiety experienced in the face of the climate crisis to process personal trauma, heightening the current response. For example one respondent commented: “I normalise current climate distress but also use bridge back from climate-related present trigger to explore the underlying contribution to current NC. In this case, what was so difficult was the client’s historical overwhelm as a child feeling she needed to fix Mum’s distress, which showed up in her current overwhelm, feeling she needed to calm other people’s climate distress while not feeling able to manage her own sense of overwhelm. I think EMDR can be very helpful in separating out what is dysfunctional from what isn’t and then putting the client in a better resourced space to deal with the present without immediately feeling overwhelmed.”

The role of national and international EMDR associations

The final part of the survey gauged EMDR therapists’ desire for a clear stance from the EMDR Association on the climate issue with the question: “Do you think that national and regional EMDR associations should be more explicitly and publicly outspoken about the climate crisis?”

In response to this question, 145 out of 232 participants said Yes, and 86 said No. There is therefore a strong, if not overwhelming desire, for associations to engage more with the climate issue. The qualitative data gives an indication of how associations may help:

• Addressing this at conferences and in training would be/should be essential, not an add-on or special topic.
• EMDR needs to ready itself for the climate tsunami and create innovative and creative ways of working with the impact of change.

Several respondents emphasised the role of associations in supporting therapists and others emphasised the need for the organisations to be seen as impartial, suggesting that “This is a key area for trauma work, and we need to be careful to be a containing organisation and a treating one, not moving towards political arenas. I mention this as the society [Association] has not commented in relation to diversity issues (e.g., Black Lives Matter, etc.) in terms of making statements, and so the question would be raised: why this? We should be responsive to need, but boundary what we do so everyone feels safe coming to us. We need to recognise the issues but remain impartial and non-judgemental, as we will equally work with clients who do not believe in this issue.”

Discussion

The survey revealed a significant gap in addressing the climate crisis within therapeutic sessions. While many therapists acknowledge the psychological impact of the climate crisis, there appears to be a lack of integration of this awareness into clinical practice. This finding indicates a need for a deeper exploration of the barriers to incorporating climate crisis discussions and interventions in therapy.

Dickinson (2020) proposed a framework to understand these attitudes further, offering a critical perspective that contextualises survey findings within the broader discourse on trauma, resilience, and specific vulnerabilities of younger populations. Dickinson’s article on post-traumatic growth (PTG) explores the concept of positive psychological change following traumatic events, positing that while PTG has been a well-documented phenomenon, current trends—such as increasing socioeconomic inequalities, pervasive exposure to global crises, and a continuous stream of negative information—may hinder individuals’ capacity for growth after trauma.

The authors’ current survey further suggests that many EMDR therapists recognise these challenges but are not actively incorporating discussions about the climate crisis into their sessions. This omission may be due to a lack of training or confidence, and therapists might also feel that the continuous nature of the climate crisis, combined with other societal stressors, makes it difficult to foster PTG as clients deal with present and personal life challenges.

The climate crisis debate as presented in politics and social media has fostered division and uncertainty even among those otherwise conscious of changes already taking place globally. This brings with it the risk that therapists influence clients according to their own beliefs and ambivalence about scientific research, not wishing to be seen as partisan.

I don’t think climate change, much like politics and religion, has a place in therapy.

Although voiced by a small minority, it would appear that personal emotional overwhelm plays a part in therapist reluctance to bring climate awareness into their work, as does an absence of experience and knowledge what to do if this comes up in therapy.

Sanson et al. (2019) focused on the unique psychological impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth, emphasising how younger populations are especially vulnerable to climate anxiety given their developmental stage and exposure to an uncertain future. The authors call for targeted interventions to address these specific needs, including promoting resilience and adaptive coping strategies.

Despite the heightened vulnerability of children and youth, this survey found that therapists are often not addressing climate anxiety explicitly in their sessions. This could be due to a perceived lack of appropriate therapeutic tools or a focus on more immediate issues presented by clients. However, the failure to address climate anxiety may leave young clients without the necessary support to process their fears and develop resilience.

To deepen the insights gained from the survey, we propose conducting follow-up forums or individual in-depth interviews using a grounded theory approach. This method allows for the exploration of emerging themes and patterns that reflect the collective experiences and perceptions of therapists regarding the climate crisis and its impact on their practice.

Conclusion

This comprehensive and, as the authors believe, groundbreaking survey of EMDR therapists underscores a critical gap in addressing the climate crisis within therapeutic practice. Integrating insights from the relevant literature highlights the need for specialised training and resources. Consistently, the majority of respondents in the survey indicated a need for leadership and guidance from their professional bodies.

Encouragingly, the survey revealed that some therapists are already successfully using EMDR to support people with climate-related trauma and/or anxiety, from which others may learn.

Further research is needed to help develop effective strategies for incorporating climate crisis discussions into therapy. As the climate crisis continues to unfold, the mental health community must adapt and respond proactively to support individuals and communities in navigating this unprecedented challenge.

The authors appear in alphabetical order. They are all members of the Climate Crisis SIG.