A Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight: Climate Anxiety in Our Youth – Introduction to the Section

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dennis Haseley and Claudia Lament, the editors of this special section of The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child titled, A Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight: Climate Anxiety in Our Youth, summarize in their introduction the contributions made by American and European activists, psychoanalysts, and researchers: Bill McKibben, Sally Weintrobe, Caroline Hickman, Panu Pihkala, Kathrin Hörter, Ines Schelhas and Martina Gast, Christine Bauriedl-Schmidt. In their introduction, the editors emphasize the emotional catastrophe, stemming from climate change, that is being visited on the next generations. They find the current culture of “uncare” implicated, as it gives permission to our worst instincts to both exploit the planet and deny the consequences. Remedies include psychological understanding, clinical work, and community support. Finally, they echo the call by the German author, Kathrin Hörter, for psychoanalysts themselves to use their tools to take action and find ways to intervene, not just on an individual clinical basis, but in the field of society as a whole.