If you’re feeling anxious about climate change, you’re not alone. Climate change is upon us, and, understandably, climate anxiety at various levels of intensity has become widespread. (For some of the reasons why, see the three-part blog series, Why Climate Action Can’t Wait.)
In this 2023 article, “Yale Experts Explain Climate Anxiety,” Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, notes that their recent survey had found 64% of Americans “were at least somewhat worried about global warming.” Nearly 10% said they are depressed about global warming for at least “several days” out of the previous two weeks. Numbers in the UK appear to be comparable. I regularly do climate change outreach (talks and tabling), and I hear this myself.
https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-climate-anxiety
Behavior analysts’ knowledge of behavioral principles can help us cope with many stressors, including climate anxiety. A way that psychologists and others have developed to help people are “Climate Cafes.” These are not therapy, but something more informal: a chance to share emotional responses, and learn from others’ ways of coping. They’re now being held around the world. Two basic types exist: one that focuses only on sharing feelings in a supportive environment, and one that adds in climate action. Both make use of behavioral principles, of course.
In the US, the first type predominates. I have attended two Climate Cafes, both in that category. Having been asked to help provide more Climate Cafes locally, I recently took the next step and got the 2+ hour training to become a Climate Cafe Facilitator. Anyone can do this – you don’t need to be a psychologist. Then, all it takes is two facilitators to arrange and run what’s typically a one-time-only 90-min Climate Cafe session. Do they help? There hasn’t been much assessment literature yet, according to this 2025 article, but informally, attendees do often say that they found the experience useful. That wouldn’t be surprising, given the documented success of such support groups in other areas.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278225000495
De Jong et al. (2025). Climate cafés as a space for navigating climate emotions: A scoping review. Journal of Climate Change and Health, 24, 100466.
I believe that the need will continue to grow; certainly climate change and its impacts are not going away. For those interested in learning more, the Climate Cafe model I’m familiar with comes from the Climate Psychology Alliance. Basic info is here:
Climate Cafes in this mode appear to be more popular in the US than the alternative model. However, I am not aware of a centralized resource listing all events. If you want to find one, you need to search your community resources.
For those interested in the alternative Climate Cafe model, the one that includes climate action, information is here:
It appears to be more popular in Europe than in the US, and it does offer a listing hub. Both models can be found globally.
I see that there are a few articles in clinical areas of behavior analysis on climate anxiety. (Thanks to Tom Critchfield for bringing a couple to my attention.) Perhaps this is an interdisciplinary area to which our field can contribute.