"What to Do When Climate Change Scares You": Strategies for Supporting Children ages 6-12 in the Clinic and Classroom

Kids are learning about and living through the effects of our warming world, whether they live in an area that already has more extreme weather, or they are overhearing it in a conversation, news story, or in new science curriculum in schools. And yet there is little support for the painful thoughts and feelings that naturally arise.This event will showcase the new book What To Do When Climate Change Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Dealing with Climate Change Stress. Written by Leslie Davenport, MFT, this CBT-based, psycho-educational workbook is designed for use by clinicians, teachers, or parents. Come join our panel discussion on how to apply What To Do When Climate Change Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Dealing with Climate Change Stress, as well as other tools to support children ages 6-12 to work through their experiences, build emotional resilience, and discover ways to join with their community to be part of building a safer, healthier, more just world for everyone.

A portion of the proceeds from this event will be designated to purchasing What To Do When Climate Change Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Dealing with Climate Change Stress for donation to schools. Nominate a school of your choice to be part of the raffle! The nomination form will be included in the event registration confirmation email.

Bios:

Leslie Davenport works internationally as a climate psychology educator, consultant, and therapist working at the intersection of climate, education, policy, media, and social justice. She authored five books including Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change for clinicians, and two books through the American Psychological Association: All the Feelings Under the Sun, for tweens, and What to Do When Climate Change Scares You for kids. A founding member of one of the nation’s largest integrative medicine programs, she’s a strong advocate for bringing a public health model to the accessibility of support for eco-emotions. Leslie is a regular contributor to Gen Dread’s Ask a Climate Therapist advice column. She is an advisor to the Post Carbon Institute, Climate Mental Health Network, Project InsideOut, and One Resilient Earth. She is the program and faculty lead for the Climate Psychology Certification at the California Institute of Integral Studies. www.lesliedavenport.com.

Linda Goldman has a Fellow in Thanatology (FT): Death, Dying, and Bereavement (FT) with an MS degree in counseling, and master’s Equivalency in early childhood education. Linda is a Retired Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). She worked as a teacher and counselor in the public school system for almost twenty years and as a grief therapist for over twenty years. Linda shares workshops, courses, and trainings on children’s grief and climate change and has taught as an adjunct faculty in multiple graduate programs. Linda has written many resources for working with young people including Climate Change and Youth: Turning grief and anxiety into action 2022, Life and Loss: A Guide to Help Children Grieving Children Classic Edition 2022, a current chapter on climate change and youth in: International Handbook of Child and Adolescent Losses in Contemporary Context 2023, and editor for An Educator’s Guide to Climate Emotions 2023. www.grievingchildren.net

James McKowen, Ph.D. is a Clinical Child Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is the clinical director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service, an outpatient clinic for youth with addiction and he conducts research in substance use and youth. For the past 5 years, Dr. McKowen has been expanding his clinical and research interests in the impacts of climate change on youth mental health. He is co-chair of the Climate and Mental Health Initiative at MGH, Associate at the MGH Center for Environmental and Health, and member of the Climate Psychology Alliance – Youth Committee. He is trained in climate-aware therapy, hosts climate cafés, and has a paper under review on pediatric mental health and climate change. He is also researching the prevalence of climate anxiety in 6-12th graders and is working on a study assessing climate related emotions in clients struggling with schizophrenia. www.climatehealthresilience.com

Jennifer Silverstein is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and California endorsed Infant Family Mental Health Specialist and Reflective Practice Facilitator. She has decades of clinical experience working with families transitioning into parenthood, and young children with complex trauma histories. Jenni has extensive experience providing nature-based therapy for children recovering from trauma, including many who struggled with the impacts of Sonoma County fires. She is currently working as a Climate and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, promoting trauma responsive systems of care that support young children in developing strong regulatory capacities, and enhancing their natural connection to the more-than-human world. Jennifer frequently lectures and writes about community climate resilience and the intersection of climate change, social justice, and early childhood. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Climate Psychology Alliance-North America and is the chair of their Youth Committee. www.jennisilverstein.com

Limited discounted tickets are available for students and people facing financial hardship. Please contact info@climatepsychology.us to request access.

Attend all three events to receive discounts from $5-$20 off ticket prices.

The events:

Planting the Future Speaker Series: Climate Emotions in the K-12 Classroom: A Cross-Generational Conversation (Oct 5)

"What to Do When Climate Change Scares You": Strategies for Supporting Children ages 6-12 in the Clinic and Classroom (Oct 19)

How to Teach, Learn, & Process Climate Anxiety & the Toxic Knowledge of Climate Injustice with College-age Students (Oct 26)