Documenting the emerging field of climate and mental health

The Hub is a transdisciplinary research centre on the fifth floor of Wellcome Collection. It brings together different voices and expertise as part of an experiment to see what new knowledge can be created.

One of the reasons I love working with Wellcome Trust (and their Hub residents) is because as part of their trans-disciplinary exploration, they always make the most of creative and embodied approaches. This event encouraged connection, collaboration and creativity and was a collaboration between London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Centre for Climate and Planetary Health and Centre for Global Mental Health, Land Body Ecologies Research Group, and Wellcome's Climate & Health, Mental Health and Government Relations & Strategic Partnerships teams.

The day consisted of expert speakers from a wide range of expertise and a live facilitated discussion which invited members and leaders of communities working directly with the impact of climate and mental health in Australia, Thailand and Nigeria. The creative breakout sessions made use of clay modelling, tarot card exercises and visual thinking to approach this complex subject from non-traditional approaches. The result was incredible and one month on, delegates are still buzzing from everyone’s collective insight.

I was visually capturing the sessions all day as well as encouraging feedback and contributions from attendees both in the room and online from overseas.

The work I produced was grounded in the questions that emerged from a webinar series ‘Keeping Our Planet In Mind’ which outlines current evidence and work areas around climate change and mental health crises and highlighted the following:

Context and trends

This new emerging field of ‘Climate and Mental Health’ and the power and potential of creating insights through transdisciplinary collaboration

Progress and wins

Speakers shared their experience and progress working and developing collective action to support youth activist voicses and ensure real impact in the world.

The lived experience

Siwakorn Odacho, a farmer in Thailand, and Jennifer Uchendu an activist in Nigeria, shared their direct experience and raised issues of inequality in power and resources, perception and mindset.

Emerging Themes

Workshops explored mental health interventions in the climate space using tarot, sub-populations and vulnerable groups using clay, and hybrid workshop using visual thinking to interrogate solutions.

Reflections

This workshop created and stimulated a Community of Practice and its members continue to share and discuss these themes. Reviewing these illustrations in future meetings is a way to reflect on learning and progress.

Here’s what the wall looked like at the end of the day…