Incorporate a Trauma-informed approach

Climate Mental Health: Incorporate a Trauma-informed approach

Climate change impacts, such as more intense wildfires, floods, droughts, and hurricanes, can be life-threatening and result in significant damage. This can cause trauma and trauma-related mental health reactions in individuals, families, and communities. Those experiencing violence and chronic stress (e.g., due to poverty) may be particularly susceptible to the effects of climate-change-related disasters. Disaster exposure can trigger prior traumatic events and cause compounding distress. Additionally, anxiety, anger, and hopelessness about the future impacts of climate change can have significant impacts on mental health. Creating a trauma-informed learning environment in which climate change is addressed directly will reduce the potential for harm and increase the effectiveness of learning. The following strategies build on work by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Return to the Climate Mental Health Page.

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Learn to recognize trauma-related reactions and be conscious of potential triggers

Educate yourself about the nature and impact of potentially traumatic events and chronic stress that climate change topics may cause. This includes the ability to recognize trauma-related reactions in youth and how they may manifest in a learning environment.

Teaching Resources

Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network can help you to be conscious of triggers and therefore how to avoid triggering and/or retraumatizing youth.
Environmental and Climate Responsive Crosswalk for Trauma-Informed Schools by San Mateo County Office of Education has resources to help integrate a climate and environmental trauma-responsive lens.

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Create a safe, caring, and welcoming environment

Safety: Ensure that those in a school environment, both youth, and adults, feel both physically and psychologically safe by creating a safe, caring, and welcoming environment. This may include creating a classroom that is a safe space to ask questions about climate change, share or explore controversial opinions, and reveal differences. Providing breaks, managing your own emotions, and demonstrating compassion and support all help to create a feeling of safety. Work with youth to collaboratively develop a set of ground rules to ensure safety and respect in the classroom, which includes how to disagree respectfully.

Teaching Resources

Trauma-Informed Toolkit by Yasmeen Hossain at OSU Extension provides key tips for educators to create safe classroom spaces and integrate trauma-informed practices into lesson plans using a wildfire lesson plan example.

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Build trust through transparency

Trustworthiness and transparency: Those who have experienced potentially traumatic events around climate change may find it difficult to trust others. To build trust, it is critical, to be honest and transparent with youth, including the realities of climate change and both opportunities and barriers to mitigation and adaptation. Showing unconditional positive regard for youth, focusing on their strengths, and being vulnerable by expressing your own emotions can also help to develop trust.

Teaching Resources

Building Rapport and Trust with Youth from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing outlines strategies for building trust.