Repairing the Social Contract – The Co-design of Climate Distress Services
Worldwide young people are increasingly distressed about climate change and the uncertain future they face. Many governments and organizations are making significant strides towards developing climate mitigation and adaption strategies. However, building social emotional resilience in the 16-24 age range is critically needed, as well as co-evolving the tools they need to create a regenerative future. Young people have the most at stake as the climate crisis unfolds and, understandably, the most at risk.
In October 2022, GTEC and the Simon Fraser University based Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance (MHCCA) formed a partnership to investigate the mental health impacts of the climate crisis particularly on younger people. The goal of the study is to design climate distress services to be delivered at GTEC’s Climate Response Centre. Read the full press release here.
Brief Study Design:
Development includes two multi-stage focus groups and ongoing meetings between GTEC and MHCCA researchers. Each focus group cohort will consist of 6-12 young people, recruited through the MHCCA and GTEC professional networks.
Each focus group will be interviewed twice to:
- Explore current reactions to climate change and
- Develop ideas about educational and support services that GTEC can offer to support young people. These focus group interviews and ongoing meetings between GTEC and MHCCA team members will be leveraged to develop a proposal that will aim to develop, pilot, and evaluate a service for climate change related distress among young people, aged 16-24.
Key Findings:
- Our respondents echoed the heightened feelings of anxiety and distress due to climate change of global youth as reported by previous studies
- From the perspectives of young people climate change appears to prescribe an uncertain and undesirable future
- A prevalent sentiment was one of betrayal, with the participants associating their climate distress to the perceived inadequacy of societal leadership in addressing climate change.
- Ideas about what would be helpful centre on enhanced education and community-based events and activities.