Two new research articles by scholars from various countries discuss Pihkala’s Process Model of Eco-anxiety.
In this article, Canadian scholars explore the experiences of 15 people who attended group-based climate-mental-health programs, focused on climate grief and organized by Refugia Retreats in Alberta, Canada. There is much interesting discussion in the article, and the authors connect the results with the Process Model:
“A key question that arises from this model is how to support people awakening to the climate crisis to move from the turmoil of phase two into the more integrated resilience of phase three. Many of the interviewees in our study appeared to be in, or on their way to, the third phase of integration because of their longer-term engagement with climate change and holistic coping practices. Their accounts suggests that grieving and mourning practices may support this shift by energizing a reciprocal relationship between emotional processing and values-aligned action.”
In this article, the authors build on the Process Model in their proposal for “the Developing Ecological Consciousness Model”. They emphasize the role of nature connectedness, both as “a source of climate distress and a foundation for resilience”.
The major themes that all these authors raise up will be featured also in the forthcoming documentary, How Are You, Really? The young people who were interviewed there often spoke of the importance of nature connectedness, and many had participated to group discussions about climate emotions. Stay tuned, the documentary will be ready in 2026!