Therapy on an Exhausted Planet

Abstract

The last decade of the twentieth century saw a growing awareness of environmental issues and concern about prospects for the continuance of life on our planet. Evidence is strong that the planet's ability to continue sustaining life is under threat. Despite this and despite the urgency of time constraints, the human species, in its vast range of occupations and careers, has scarcely lifted a finger to address the crisis. Therapists are no different. This article considers the dangerous predicaments we face, explores what restrains therapists, and looks to some possible avenues for influence.

Reconnecting systemic family therapy: How family therapy training can attend to the ecosystem and climate emergency, recommendations from a Delphi survey

“…Laszloffy (2009) and Twist et al (2019) discuss the importance of family therapists exploring their ecological values and developing the ecological self-of-the-therapist. Casey (2000), Kearney (2021) and Palmer (2021) have considered practitioners' role as activists and the necessity of taking action beyond the therapy room.…”

“…Engagement with E&CE in family therapy has come at the margins. Casey's seminal articles ‘Therapy on an Exhausted Planet’ (Casey, 2000) and ‘Therapy and Ecology: Viewing the Natural World Through Systemic Lenses’ (Casey, 2002) remain relevant but peripheral. Since 2009 Lazloffy has outlined the importance of family therapy incorporating the environment and offered ways practice and training might do this, comprehensively outlined in Laszloffy and Twist (2019).…”

“…Casey (2000), Laszloffy (2009) and Lazloffy (2019) argue that our assessments should consider possible links between the problems families face and climate, environmental stressors and nature disconnection. Advocates for nature‐based interventions, often drawing on eco‐psychology/eco‐therapeutic ideas, focus on (re)connecting people with nature (Casey, 2000; Duncan, 2018; Hechter & Fife, 2019; Hertlein & Hechter, 2019; Laszloffy, 2009, Lazloffy, 2019), and on practicing family therapy outdoors (Santin, 2021). Evidence suggests that spending time in nature is linked to more pro‐environmental attitudes and behaviours (DeVille et al., 2021).…”

The family therapy journals in 2000: a thematic review

“…Such an approach allows for 'a historical re-authoring of the relational story with God' as a means of transcending present difficulties. Casey (2000) however introduces a different reflection on spirituality in his article 'Therapy on an exhausted planet'. The spirituality developed here is very much an ecological one in which our therapeutic pursuits are not contrasted with 'divine' or 'religious' ones but with the 'natural world'.…”