PSY 367 Psychology of Environmental Crisis

The course studies the relationship between mind and nature including from a variety of psychological perspectives, in order to better understand the psychological aspects of the environmental crisis.In our era of anxiety, denial, paranoia, apathy, guilt, hope, and despair in the face of climate change, this course introduces various psychological approaches to understanding environmental crisis, our relationship to nature and the nonhuman world, and the difficulties of psychological and social change. We shall apply a range of psychological methods and theories to the problem, with a focus on psychoanalytic contributions. The nonlinear sciences of complexity and chaos, as well as the philosophies of Bateson, Deleuze and Guattari, are also studied, together with new clinical applications from ecopsychology and ecotherapy, helping to contribute towards a critical dialogue between psychology and ecology.