About the Institute

We began a focused discussion on the intersection between climate change and mental health during COVID when we encountered an increasing amount of psychotherapy clients talking about climate anxiety, existential dread, fear of bringing children into this world or feeling alone in their experience with climate distress. Even though a growing body of clients wanted to talk about their climate feelings, psychology was in its early stages of providing an appropriate psychological framework and perspective to working with these imminent feelings. During that time, we ran trauma and resiliency groups for communities on the frontline through the International Center for Mental Health & Human Rights, designed by our mentor Gaea Logan. Inspired by her work, we decided to further our training and services, concentrating on the growing needs of those concerned and impacted by climate degradation. We started to independently merge our trauma-informed modalities with climate awareness in our private practices, which then informed, among various studies on climate psychology, our 8-week climate resiliency training Thicket. We both hold a certificate in climate psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and are members of the North America Climate Psychology Alliance.

After being approached by different organizations, universities, individuals, and groups on providing climate-aware psycho-educational work, we began to offer workshops and talks concerning climate psychology. CERI was created in 2023 to meet the growing needs and requests for training, workshops, and talks. We invite you to consider how you may want to be involved. If you are a climate-aware psychologist or other helping professional worldwide working at the intersection of mental health and climate change, we would love to meet you and collaborate. Thank you for your interest in CERI; we can't do this work alone and would love to hear from you.

In community, 

Eva Jahn and Elizabeth Acuña Driscoll

Our values are rooted in fierce and tender compassion, sacred connection to the Earth, service, solidarity, social justice and integrity.

We dedicate our work towards creating a shift in culture, attitude and consciousness, away from individualism towards a culture of care and emotional resilience embedded within an interconnected ecosystem that honors all beings equally. To inspire and create different forms of being with each other and our local and global human and more-than-human communities.

We strive to weave safe spaces of healing and connection for all expressions of cultural (more here) and gender identity.

In humbly aiming to understand the complexities of current and ancient systems of oppression including their social, structural and environmental forms of othering, we commit to remain fiercely compassionate and steady while prioritizing belonging: connection, justice, and care for the earth within the turmoil of the current cycles of war and destruction, disconnection and othering.