Episode 17: Raising Children During the Climate Crisis

In this episode, we discuss the personal impact that climate change-fueled fires had on our guest and her young child. She also explains, from a therapist’s perspective, the steps parents (and others) can take to deal with the growing problem of climate anxiety in themselves and in their families. See below for links to many helpful resources we share.

Guest: Jennifer Silverstein, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Great Guest Quote: “This is an existential worldwide problem. We're not going to solve it by ourselves and we need to work together, and…we really can't take care of our emotional well-being by ourselves, either.”

Keywords: #eco-anxiety,#climateanxiety,#eco-distress, #climatedistress, #childhoodmentalhealth,#parentmentalheath;#climatecrisis,#climateaction,#climatediscussions.#climatejustice

Host: Sean Mendelson

Transcript: ⁠https://docs.google.com/document/d/1shFML82U17cndUeTwjPCbrjT_xd0ahiAUHFltT3oDmg/edit?usp=sharing⁠

This episode’s recap blog post: coming soon

Did you know? We LOVE listener feedback! Share your thoughts and insights by taking this brief survey:

⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWtyEkf8meN01BVOEgOJ_pWYxkha5EiV5Po2alSbvc_IzyEA/viewform⁠

Related Action Resources: 

• Jennifer Silverstein’s website: ⁠www.jennisilverstein.com⁠

• Climate Psychology Alliance North America’s ⁠Climate Aware Therapist Directory⁠

• Caroline Hickman’s study we referenced: ⁠Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey⁠ 

• Brief video on climate anxiety in families from NBC News: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnu1xU9Qpzw⁠

• ⁠Climate Cafes:⁠ find one in your local area or online. Similar groups include the ⁠Collapse Club⁠ and ⁠Climate Awakening⁠.

• Climate Mental Health Network’s ⁠parent and caregiver resources ⁠

• ⁠Good Grief Network⁠: another excellent resource for parents

• ⁠International Transformational Resilience Coalition⁠: builds community-level capacity for mental wellness during the long climate emergency

• Check out ⁠Episode 8 of Everyday Climate Champions⁠ for more information about how to have climate conversations with kids and adults

Please share this podcast with a few friends, family, or colleagues. 

Remember to follow this podcast to find out when new episodes get released!

Contact Us: Do you know a Bay Area-based Everyday Climate Champion? We’d love to interview them! 

Get in touch: crba.eccpodcast@gmail.com 

Website: www.climaterealitybayarea.org/eccpodcast 

The Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter catalyzes local solutions to the climate crisis in every corner of the San Francisco Bay Area. We work together to spark urgent action and rapid adoption of solutions to the climate crisis. As Climate Reality founder and Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore says, “Solving the climate crisis is within our grasp, but we need people like you to stand up and act.”  

To learn more, visit: www.ClimateRealityBayArea.org

Podcast Production Team: Executive Producer/Editor: Dalya Massachi; Sound Designers/Engineer: Martin Sanchez; Co-Hosts/Researchers: Ellisa Feinstein, Isabella Genereaux, Sean Mendelson, Hasini Parepalli, Logo Designer: Gabriela Vargas