Early Career Psychiatrists: Call to Action on Climate Change

Recognizing the importance of cultivating current and future generations of climate-aware and activist psychiatrists, the Climate Psychiatry Alliance (CPA) expanded its reach to include early career psychiatrists (ECPs). Lise Van Susteren, M.D., and Robin Cooper, M.D., inspired by their interactions with psychiatry residents and fellows, found that many ECPs wanted to be involved in CPA’s mission of mitigating climate change’s impact on mental and public health while maximizing the mental and physical benefits of a sustainable global response.

In late 2020, Lise Van Susteren, M.D., recruited CSL Fellow Benjamin Liu, M.D., and psychiatry resident Sarah Fisher, D.O., to build an “early career” subgroup of the CPA to attract trainees and early career psychiatrists. The development of the Early Career Network (ECN) was mediated virtually due to the pandemic. This proved to be beneficial, enabling a broader reach and flexible schedule. In creating the ECN, we offered an opportunity for like-minded colleagues to learn more about becoming climate-aware clinicians. We first reached out to individuals who had expressed interest in climate issues then expanded to various listservs and social media accounts. We wanted to help them increase their confidence in treating patients with climate-related anxiety, depression, and PTSD. This led to dealing with our own climate anxiety and providing a safe space to share our experiences. We did not want to limit our discussions to psychotherapy, so we highlighted a broad range of climate-aware topics. This included communication strategies, engagement of our own defenses, and the broader effects that climate change has on human health and well-being, for example, air pollution, extreme heat, malnutrition, infectious disease, and mass migration.

What emerged was a series of monthly virtual ECN meetings. The first event focused on teaching dialectical behavior therapy for the climate-aware clinician. We invited guest experts to discuss their books, teach steps for effective advocacy, and share their own journeys to becoming climate-aware clinicians. As the group expanded, we developed a steering committee and consensus-based meeting processes. A core group has met biweekly and delegated roles such as facilitating meetings, taking minutes, and developing and promoting upcoming events. By having rotating roles and responsibilities, we have accommodated the busy and varied schedules of our core members.

With growing membership, the group’s diversity has flourished as well. What was primarily a West Coast group grew to include members from other states as well as other countries. The ECN has gained momentum by including climate-oriented psychiatrists in all stages of training. For example, Julia Rothschild, a fourth-year medical student at Brown University, has developed a pre-clinical elective on climate change and health with her peers. She also helped produce a podcast, “Code Green,” to educate health care professionals about climate change. Emily Schutzenhofer, M.D., a psychiatry resident at George Washington University with a background in chemistry and global studies, always wanted to be a community-based physician, which meant not only learning how to treat patients, but also advocating for policies, services, and communities that promote patients’ well-being. When she became aware of the goals of CPA-ECN, she immediately joined. Despite not being well-versed in climate change prior to joining, Emily is now presenting talks to interested groups about the mental health impacts of climate change.

With this article we hope to motivate others to join this effort and our organization and inspire them to advocate for their patients and the community-based interventions that will support their well-being. It may feel daunting to join an organization in which other members are already engaged and have accomplished a lot, but we have all learned from one another and welcome new participants. While we have many goals, the most important aim is to build a supportive community where all are welcome. As Julia eloquently stated, “The members of the group have been so supportive to my personal and professional growth. ... [It] has been a phenomenal place to learn from and connect with others. … As time goes on, I consider joining this organization to be one of the best things I have done in the last few years.”

Please email us at [email protected] to learn more or to register for one of our events, which are held on the second Tuesday every month at 5:15 p.m. PT, 8:15 p.m. ET. ■