Included in this edition:

• Alert - Los Angeles Wildfires
• To My Climate Concerned Health Colleagues: Welcome to this New Year
• Climate Protections at Risk in 2025
• Celebrations - Could not have happened without hope
• APA Elections
• Good Reads: Wildfire Resources 
• Events, Talks, Conferences, and Courses
• Good Listenings: Impact of Extreme Heat on Mental Health with Somatic Therapist; Enduring Grand Rounds: Neuropsychiatric Implications of Plastics Pollution

Since the initial writing of this Newsletter, it feels like the world has taken an enormous turn. We cannot ignore this new horrific disaster.

The LA wildfires are already one of the most destructive in California’s history, and are on track to be the costliest wildfire in US history. They’re an acute wake-up call that we’ve reached a new level of climate disruption. These fires rage in the largest city in the most populous state of the nation. We are now witnessing a massive wildfire in an urban city.

And lest we not forget the Asheville disaster at the end of 2024 in a place previously considered a perfect haven from climate events. These are reminders that disasters can emerge anywhere without warning, and evidence that we are woefully under-prepared. 

Whether it’s friends, relatives, colleagues, or property, many of us have connections to the area. It’s crucial that we come together and support one another amid this loss and devastation.

We at CPA are already collaborating with other groups to provide resources for mental health support for the LA fires – and to be better prepared in the future. This is an evolving task, and we will communicate in our listserv and future Newsletters. Thanks to those who have already contributed resources and been a part of the vibrant discussion creating a supportive place on our listserv. See current resources in the Good Reads section below.

One caveat: These disasters have evoked a compassionate desire to jump in and help out wherever we can. Borne from this place of deep caring, there have been several lists circulating for clinicians to volunteer their services to those in need. However, I have received advice that these lists are not necessarily useful at this moment, since teams of mental health responders need to be trained and embedded in delivery systems. This is another wake-up call for the need to transform and develop our disaster response systems. As requests for clinical help emerge, we will keep you posted.

Waking up means recognizing our need for creating a Disaster Response Working Group to coordinate training, in collaboration with other groups, and establish the needed connections for integration in disaster response teams. If interested, please contact us at membershipcoordinator@climatepsychiatry.org.

Returning to our Newsletter written before the fires –

Welcome to this new year. Although many of us are grappling with the enormous challenges of a new administration in the White House that will set back the progress on climate change, we must hold together, face the reality and challenges, support each other, and understand the profound need for HOPE to fortify us moving forward. I (Robin Cooper, MD, CPA President) share several reflections on hope, co-authored by CPA SC member Janet Lewis, MD.

Mustering and Living with Hope. The concept of hope itself comes with a pitfall. Consciously or unconsciously we tend to associate hope with some particular outcome. This can be conceptualized as “attached hope”, which actually sets us up for more fear and demoralization, since particular outcomes may not materialize. Hope, as many are now describing, is most usefully thought of as awareness of possibilities within the present moment – we always have choices, even as certain futures foreclose. By definition, possibility always exists – leaning into that is hope. And this active awareness, in turn, creates more possibilities. Tallessyn Z. Grenfell-Lee, MDiv, PhD is quoted in this useful article discussing attached vs non-attached hope.

We find more reflections on hope in this extraordinarily insightful conversation with Sarah McBride, the first transgender Congressperson. She sheds light on the historical challenges that have preceded our own difficult times, reminding us that activists persisted and persevered, often without “any reason to believe that change would come”. She identifies the struggles of enslaved people of the 1850s who could not imagine the Emancipation Proclamation, unemployed workers of the 1930s who could not see the New Deal, and the Patrons of the Stonewall Inn who “never thought they could live openly and authentically. Yet they persevered and ultimately they changed the world”. Interview minutes 36-38 are particularly powerful.

These examples provide a foundation of hope for our own struggles. McBride ends the conversation with an idea similar to what many of us have said for a long time: Hope is not a passive state, but one we must actively create and re-create through our actions and our communities. “Hope is not always an organic emotion. We have to consciously find it and consciously summon it”.

Finally, NYT Opinion writer, Margaret Renkl, confronts the feeling that “Every effort feels Sisyphean – What’s the point?” in this very moving article. “In the aftermath of an election that will return a climate denier to the White House and a climate-denying party to control of Congress, it sometimes seems impossible to keep going [...] When I have been downhearted in the past, I have always explained to myself that I am not alone in my efforts to cultivate change [...] Individual efforts gather momentum through the individual efforts of others”.

Hope should not cloud the reality of what we are facing. Our colleague, Dr. Adriana Manygoats de Julio (she/they), a Diné (Navajo) and Latina psychiatrist and an APA Representative to the Assembly for the American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian (AI/AN/NH) Caucus, has provided a summary of some of the climate protections that are threatened in 2025. The list is not exhaustive, but puts some things into clear perspective. Climate protections at risk:

    • Deregulating Environmental Protections

    • Increase the Use of Public Lands for Fossil Fuels

    • Rolling Back Clean Energy Investments and Jobs

    • Withdrawing from World Leadership

See her expanded essay here, Climate Protections at Risk in 2025.

• Montana Supreme Court upholds a landmark case in favor of youth. Summary from The New York Times article by Karen Zraick: “The Montana Supreme Court upheld a landmark victory for youth climate activists, affirming a decision by a lower court that the state’s energy policies violated their constitutional rights to a clean environment. Rikki Held, 23, the named plaintiff in the case, was among those who testified [...] she hailed the court’s decision. ‘This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,’”. Thanks to Our Children’s Trust for their dedicated work in supporting this case. 

• CPA had a successful end of year fundraising campaign. We came very close to meeting our target goal of $30,000. We are so grateful to all of you who contributed to the success of our EOY donation campaign. Although we mostly run on passion and volunteer work of our activists, we at CPA depend on these donations to finance our essential needs. With the success of this donation campaign we will be able to build and continue our efforts. Of course, if you did not make a contribution, these are always appreciated at any time of the year. You can donate here!

If you are a member of the American Psychiatric Association, this is a reminder to vote! And especially to vote for leaders who support climate action and climate health engagement. You can vote now until January 31 at: https://www.psychiatry.org/membership/awards-leadership-opportunities/elections. All APA members should have received a personalized link with your APA member number thru APA Election Office

You can read about candidate’s perspectives on important issues, including climate mental health, on the APA Elections website, which now has an APA Elections Community section – a hub for discussion, resources, and networking. Read more on how to enroll and log in. 

Good Reads: Wildfire Resources

Los Angeles Wildfires 

• How to donate, help and find assistance: UCLA has put together a list of organizations providing relief support such as food, shelter, health & mental health care, support for firefighters & first responders, and more.  

• How to Help Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires, by David Chiu in People, published on January 8, 2025. Provides a list of organizations offering relief efforts for displaced residents and first responders. See also: How to help those affected by the California wildfires

• Here’s Where To Get Mental Health Help Amid The LA Fires, by Sofia Delpueche, in Secret Los Angeles, published on January 10, 2025. 

• Resources in Response to the Recent Fires, The Center for Connection, published on January 9, 2025. 

• Pet and animal care: Emergency Animal Sheltering Sites for Los Angeles County Wildfires and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

General Resources on Coping with Disasters

• Disaster Resources, Climate Psychology Alliance of North America

• Coping After Disaster, American Psychiatric Association 

• The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why, by Amanda Ripley, published in 2024 by Harmony/Rodale/Convergent. 

Toolkits on wildfire smoke, health, and mental health

• Wildfire Smoke Toolkit, Climate Psychiatry Alliance 

• Wildfires & Our Mental Health, University of California Center for Climate, Health, and Equity. Available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin

Resources for Parents, Caregivers, and Educators 

• Guide to Wildfire Recovery for parents and caregivers, Canadian Red Cross

• Parents Guidelines for Helping Children Impacted by Wildfires, National Child Traumatic Stress Network 

• Wildfires: What Parents Need to Know, American Academy of Pediatrics

• Wildfires: How to talk to your kids about emergency evacuations, by Naomi Barghiel in Global News, published on August 19, 2023

• How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change: Turning Angst into Action, by Harriet Shugarman, published in 2021 by New Society Publishers. 

• Helping Children Understand Frightening Events, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress

• California Wildfires Support, Professor Stefania Maggi. Google Drive link containing a package of downloadable resources for parents and educators. 

Events, Talks, Conferences, and Courses

Necessary Communications: Providing Critical Information Regarding Climate Change in a Psychodynamic Frame

DATE: Thursday, January 16, 2025, 8-9:30 PM EST / 5-6:30 PM PST

LOCATION: Virtual. REGISTER HERE  

Presentation by Jeffrey W. Katzman, MD, hosted by the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (AAPDPP). This presentation is part of Series V of the AAPDPP Scientific Lecture Series Psychodynamic Psychiatry: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. It is free for AAPDPP Members, Residents and Medical Students; $25 per session for Non-Members. Learn about more upcoming presentations here.

Climate Change and Mental Health - Essential Skills for Mental Health and Primary Care Providers

DATE: Wednesday, January 29, February 5, & February 12 from 8-9:30 PM ET / 5-6:30 PM PT

LOCATION: Virtual (Zoom) REGISTER HERE

The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is launching a new online short course. This 3-session course (90 min per session), open to any qualified person in the world, will enable participants to develop actionable knowledge and skills needed to provide psychiatric and psychological treatment and therapeutic support for patients in the context of climate change. Visit the course website to learn more and register here by January 15, 2025.

Our Planet, Our Health: 2025 Climate Action Convention

DATE: March 2–4, 2025

LOCATION: Washington, DC REGISTER HERE

Annual Meeting of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health with expanded partnership with National Academy of Medicine and Planetary Health Alliance and other groups. This conference brings together experts, leaders, and educators on climate and health, resilience and equity, and science-informed policy-making. 

APA Annual Conference 

DATE: May 17 to 21, 2025

LOCATION: Los Angeles

REGISTER HERE *Early reduced registration till Feb. 12, 2025*

There will be many climate-related panels and events at the APA Annual Meeting. We hope to see you there and connect with other CPA members if you are planning to attend. 

Good Listenings

Exploring the Impact of Extreme Heat on Mental Health with Somatic Therapist dix Moore-Broussard. Episode 52 of The Trauma and Mental Health Report Podcast, featuring CPA member dix Moore-Broussard, Executive Director of the Neutral Ground Collective, discussing the effects of extreme heat on our mental health. 

Enduring Grand Rounds: Neuropsychiatric Implications of Plastics Pollution | Sheppard Pratt  Elizabeth Ryznar, MD, MSc, provides an overview of the plastics crisis and its relevance to mental health.

Our Partners

American Lung Association

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Children's Environmental Health Network

Climate 911: Health People Healthy Planet 

Climate Action Campaign

Climate Health Now

Climate Mama

Climate Mental Health Network

Climate Psychology Alliance North America

Climate Psychology Alliance - UK

Eco-America 

Evangelic Environmental Health 

Families for a Livable Climate

Gen Dread

Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action

Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action

Moms Clean Air Force

Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate

My Geen Doctor

National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the US Health Sector

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Physicians for Social Responsibility San Francisco Bay Chapter

Restore Our Earth

Subject to Climate

The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health

The Resilient Activist

Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action