Feeling the pain of the Earth

An intuitive inquity into supporting climate activists with eco-grief

Abstract

Climate and environmental activists may be at a disproportionate risk of experiencing mental health struggles given their close engagement with climate and ecological justice issues. Literature on supporting activists in their emotional experiences is scarce. This study focused on the under-researched yet prevalent experience of eco-grief within climate activism. Three contemporary grief models were reviewed for their applicability to eco-grief. Using the method of intuitive inquiry, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore how therapeutic practitioners could better support environmental activists in their lived experience of eco-grief, and nurture individual and collective wellbeing. A Thematic Content Analysis generated eight core themes and subsequent sub-themes, highlighting the importance of and practices for emotional processing, while proposing an overall more embodied approach to activism. The findings position eco-grief as a transpersonal phenomenon. Implications, suggestions for a prototype eco-grief model, and future research were discussed.