Master\u27s Project: Coping With Climate Change: Examining Emotional Effects and Searching for Solutions

Inspired by experiences with college students and my own reckoning of the climate crisis, I sought to understand the indirect psychological impacts of climate change on UVM students and what might be done in response. I conducted a literature review, online survey, interviews and focus group style stakeholder conversations. The results showed negative impacts on overall wellbeing and acute mental health impacts, which stakeholders agreed should be addressed and offered ideas for doing so. This research was also a practice of embodying leadership. In interpreting and sharing these results my understanding of the issue itself and my own reaction to it evolved. I learned to see climate change as a symptom of systems of domination and oppression. I also attended to my own emotional response and became more comfortable addressing the psychological impact of the climate crisis in professional and personal settings