Life’s Span, Global Warming and Ethics: Do Counsellors Have a Part to Play in Averting a Potential Catastrophe?

Abstract

In this paper I take the position that global warming is the most serious threat to the well-being, including the psychological health, of all peoples in all parts of the world. It is of particular significance to indigenous peoples: for example, those from small island states, those who inhabit low-lying deltas, and those who do not have access to economic resources that might afford protection or escape. It becomes a moral issue in that our actions today stand to impact negatively on others in the immediate and foreseeable future. Taking a critical discursive view, the paper asks, is there a connection between counselling and climate change, and do counsellors have a role to play in addressing this challenge? The paper concludes that counsellors do, at the very least, have a mandate to consider the implications of global warming and that there are professional, ethical and theoretical possibilities for useful interventions. The paper, therefore, aims to stimulate further debate, discussion and appropriate action.

Counseling in the Anthropocene: Addressing Social Justice Amid Climate Change

“…The climate and ecological crisis and issues of environmental injustice remain at the periphery of the counseling profession (Cornelius‐White, 2007; Cornforth, 2008). Although the past 3 decades have seen an expansion of the counselor's role to include a focus on social advocacy, prevention, and outreach (Ratts et al, 2015; Vera & Speight, 2003), responding to the Anthropocene will require counselors to incorporate environmental and climate justice into their work.…”

“…The recognition of the Anthropocene provides an opportunity to raise questions regarding the role of counselors in responding to climate change and the disparities it is associated with. Although a substantial body of literature has been developed outlining the potential impacts of global warming on mental health (S. E. Burke et al, 2018; Cornelius‐White, 2007; Cornforth, 2008; Doherty & Clayton, 2011; Fritze et al, 2008; Hayes et al, 2018) and integrating an ecological dimension to psychotherapy (Blair, 2013; Buzzell & Chalquist, 2009; Fisher, 2002; Roszak, 1992), the field at large has failed to make environmental concern a professional issue. One can take a look through counseling textbooks, codes of ethics, and course syllabi and not find a mention of the ensuing environmental crisis that many in the scientific community have deemed “potentially catastrophic to human health” (Watts et al, 2015, p. 1861).…”

Climate Change and Counselling Education: The Incontrovertible Role of Counselling in Psycho-Social Human Adjustment in Nigeria

“…Therefore, they also need to adapt to climate change crisis and the distinct threat it poses on them [37]. Counsellors are therefore needed to ameliorate the social and environmental conditions contributing to climate distress through exercising their ethical duty [38,39]. The counselling profession can also promote counselling education professionals to accommodate issues of climate crisis.…”

Bridging the gap: weaving humanism and poststructuralism

“…Furman & Gruenwald, 2004) and have ethical implications that require us to think beyond the normal range of ethical codes to include the effects of our actions on other populations, on other generations, and on the planet itself. Whilst it is beyond the scope of this paper to address the implications of globalisation and climate change for counselling (for a discussion see Cornforth, 2008), it is important to note that responding to them requires adaptability and a wide perspective (e.g. International Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007).…”