Klimawandel und psychische Gesundheit

The ecological transition in society has affected not only medicine but also psychiatry. Thus, there are many reasons for the DGPPN’s (German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology) call for “ecological psychiatry” not only outside the field but also within the field: extreme weather changes have a direct impact on the increased incidence of mental illness. Solastalgia, the mourning for lost living space, and climate anxiety, describe new psychic syndromes in the face of the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Indirect consequences of climate change such as food shortages, economic crises, and unwanted migration represent additional psychological risk and stress factors. Sustainable psychiatry must therefore adapt to increasing and changing needs. Psychiatric treatment concepts must place greater emphasis on prevention in order to be able to maintain the care system.

However, this initiative requires some basic considerations in order to enable well-founded activity. There are several conceptual and methodological considerations that should lead to a practice-relevant and profound understanding, because the fragmented experience of the world must be replaced by a consistent picture of the actual and intended in order to harmonize cognitions and affects, especially in vulnerable subjects.