This special episode features a report by APA Senior Communications Advisor Kim Mills, who attended the first-ever International Summit on Psychology’s Contributions to Global Health in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. The summit—sponsored by APA and the Association of Portuguese Psychologists—brought together leaders of psychological associations from more than 40 nations on five continents to explore ways of applying psychological science to the global problem of climate change.
Kaitlin Luna : Hello and welcome to a special episode of Speaking of Psychology, a podcast from the American Psychological Association that explores the connections between psychological science and everyday life. I’m your host, Kaitlin Luna.
This special episode features a report by APA’s Kim Mills, who attended the first-ever International Summit on Psychology’s Contributions to Global Health in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. The summit – sponsored by APA and the Association of Portuguese Psychologists -- brought together leaders of psychological associations from more than 40 nations on five continents to explore ways of applying psychological science to the global problem of climate change.
Kim Mills : The summit kicked off with several psychologists describing climate change’s impact in their countries. Jeanyung Chey, secretary of external affairs for the Korean Psychological Association, described how “microdust” is engulfing the country and noted evidence suggesting a connection between dementia and exposure to the fine particles. Ava Thompson, past president of the Bahamas Psychological Association, noted the increasing frequency and power of hurricanes in the Caribbean. And Brian Dixon, director of scientific issues for the New Zealand Psychological Society, described how flooding is devastating his city and surrounding areas.
Dr. Brian Dixon : We’re a coastal nation and all of our borders are threatened by increasing sea levels, increasing storm events. We also have problems with our glaciers, lakes? Snowfall, and those are major tourist attractions for us. And our food production areas, which are subject to drought and flooding more frequently than in the past …
Our territorial realm covers a lot of the Pacific, which means a large number of climate change migrants and refugees are likely to come to our country, which will place a huge stress on our health systems and mental health systems and our community resources.
Kim Mills : The attendees issued a proclamation committing each organization to work together on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 13, which calls for taking action to combat climate change and its impacts. They also adopted a resolution committing them to, among other things, helping people prepare for and adapt to climate change, even as psychologists work to change the behaviors that have caused it.
The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressed the summit, telling attendees they had chosen the right subject to tackle first because of the global nature of climate change.
Dr. Marcel de Sousa : We must have a global response to it. There is not a single country, not even a superpower, that can address alone this issue.
Kim Mills : Many of the attendees agreed with the president’s assessment. Dr. Christine Roland Levy, president of the International Association of Applied Psychology was one:
Dr. Christine Roland Levy : We really have to be global and take into account the differences in terms of cultures, in terms of habits, in terms of global warming as a whole. Problems are not always the same. Focus should be different according to countries. We need to have the same goal: protect the planet, make it a better world for the future, make it a better world for the future generations. So that’s the main point.
Kim Mills : APA CEO Dr. Arthur Evans Jr. called the meeting a landmark for psychology around the world. He and Francisco Mirando Rodrigues, president of the Association of Portuguese Psychologists, agreed to continue to provide administrative support to the international associations after they return home and begin to implement some of the tactics agreed upon. These will include a systematic review of existing research plus new cross-cultural research, seeking increased funding from government and philanthropic sources and conducting interdisciplinary workshops and conferences.
Other ideas that emerged included holding sessions on climate change at each association’s annual conference, devoting special journal issues to the topic, sponsoring publicity campaigns and training psychologists about how to change behavior and help people cope with climate change and climate disasters.
Dr. Arthur C. Evans Jr. : I think people came with some energy and excitement about the topic but I think people are leaving with a commitment to work on this issue going forward. Not only that, I think we educated each other both having experts that came into the room to talk to us but people who had lived experience, who were in countries that were affected by climate change and they had an opportunity to talk about the psychological impact and toll, and the role that they saw psychology playing so I think that combination was really powerful.
Kaitlin Luna : Thank-you, Kim Mills, for that interesting report from the summit in Lisbon. I hope we will have more to say about psychology and climate change in the coming months.
For more information about the summit and to view a video of portions of the meeting, go tour website, speakingofpsychology.org.
You can find previous episodes of Speaking of Psychology on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also go to speakingofpsychology.org.
I’m Kaitlin Luna with the American Psychological Association. Thanks for listening.
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Kim I. Mills created Speaking of Psychology in 2013 and took over as host in 2020. She is the former senior director of strategic external communications and public affairs for the American Psychological Association and spent 14 years as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press. Mills has also written for publications including The Washington Post, Fast Company, American Journalism Review, Dallas Morning News, and Harvard Business Review.
