imagine that the world is their oyster and that they could -- through winning the lottery, or appearing on reality TV -- become who they desire to be. Wrapped up in this of course are the demands of capital. Putting it rather crudely you might say that not only is capital's need for a flexible workforce well served by a population that must turn its hand to anything but capital's never-ending need for new markets is well served by a population that is pre-occupied by the self. Goods can be marketed as meanings to identify with, the hope of change can be invested in objects, shopping can become the preferred means of exercising power. Psychologically, what this does is make people more narcissistically vulnerable -- questions of self-esteem, shame, the boundary between self and other, the integrity and representation of the bodily self for example, become more critical in people's lives and so this is what appears in the consulting room. You have suggested that there are serious psychological consequences for those engaged in climate campaigning . Can you describe those consequences? I've been concerned by the extent of 'burn-out' I've come across -- in particular states of exhaustion, the development of cynicism and despair. But also the opposite of these in the form of a kind of 'pollyanna-ish' defensiveness where people convince themselves that all is solvable, either through technology or through local community action. I think both of these tendencies have increased post-Copenhagen, along with a tendency for