Mental health support for climate change
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-12)

There are practical and evidence-based interventions that can help protect mental health against climate change and extreme weather.

CCHS navigation menu: CCHS homepage (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-centre-for-climate-health-security)Topic: health impacts (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/health-impacts) Part of: Climate change and mental health (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/climate-change-and-mental-health)

Key climate change and mental health support resources:

Mental health support for climate change

Overview of the climate change and mental health report (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/overview-of-the-climate-change-and-mental-health-report)

Climate change and mental health report (pdf) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-and-mental-health-report)

Community and educational approaches to protecting mental health in a changing climate (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/community-and-educational-mental-health-interventions)

Support for climate-related mental health

Clinical therapy approaches

There is strong evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) reduces symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and insomnia following extreme weather events such as floods and wildfires. There are a number of ways that therapy interventions can be delivered. CBT to support climate-related mental health has been delivered in-person, in school, and online (therapist assisted).

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has been delivered using digital formats, for example via apps, for farmers and rural populations. Such interventions have shown improvements in wellbeing and reduced distress over 6 months. Case studies show that dynamic psychotherapy (https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/leaflets/title/psychodynamic-psychotherapy/) can reduce PTSD symptoms in firefighters over 40 to 48 weeks (1 (#refs)).

Digital interventions

Web, app and text-based tools that have been effective include CBT platforms, mindfulness apps, ACT-based self-help tools and CBT-text-based service provision. A range of groups have benefited from the use of these tools, including adults, adolescents, farmers, and wildfire evacuees. Reported outcomes include:

reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, stress and suicide ideation.

improved emotional functioning and self-compassion

high acceptability and workability

Evidence limitations

The climate change and mental health report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-and-mental-health-report) has identified limitations in the evidence on mental health support interventions for climate change including:

limited UK-specific evidence on interventions - most studies have taken place in Australia, Canada and USA

some groups are under-represented - at risk populations such as ethnic minorities, disabled people and rural communities are rarely included or assessed

short-term focus - most studies assess outcomes (effects) within 3 months

lack of research on system-level interventions - to understand how best to integrate interventions into NHS and public health approaches

lack of interventions for eco-anxiety and solastalgia (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-awareness-and-mental-health) - more targeted interventions are needed for these conditions

References
- Becker JP, Paixão R, Quartilho MJ (2022). ‘Dynamic psychotherapy as a PTSD treatment for firefighters: a case study (https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/3/530)’ Healthcare: volume 10, page 530