Climate Change: A Call to Action for the Psychiatric Profession

Addressing the Health Effects of Climate Change: an Approach Based on Evidence and Ethics

“…The editorial's authors also point to the potential for extreme weather events to produce post-traumatic stress disorders; to cause significant mental health consequences related to anxiety, fear, and distress; and to lead to increased substance use. Climate change also has the potential to exacerbate conflict and political instability, leading to increased displacement and migration [2].…”

“…Coverdale and colleagues have outlined research opportunities for the psychiatric profession, pointing out that there is still much to learn about both the mental health consequences of climate change and the effectiveness of public health interventions [2]. Going beyond psychiatric research, better understanding the health effects of climate change will likely need new interdisciplinary collaborations, encompassing climate science, sociology, education, and public health, among others.…”

“…In their editorial in this issue of the journal, Coverdale and colleagues lay out the evidence that climate change will have a substantial effect on human health, including significant consequences for mental health [2]. On the basis of this body of scientific evidence, the authors have called the community of psychiatrists to action and underlined the obligation of our profession to address the threat of climate change to mental health.…”

Psychiatry’s Role in Responding to Climate Change

“…I am pleased to offer this commentary on the editorial on climate change by Dr. Coverdale and his colleagues in this issue of Academic Psychiatry [1]. It was during my 2016 campaign for president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that the importance of this issue was brought front and center for me.…”

“…In their editorial [1], Dr. Coverdale and his colleagues provide a review of what we understand regarding the science of climate change and accompanying observations of global warning, with the associated economic, health, and mental health consequences. They effectively connect various examples of several major environmental disasters with likely mental health consequences and specifically identify the disproportionate impact of these events on vulnerable populations.…”