Being a Therapist in a Time of Crisis

The climate crisis is upon us. Counsellors and psychotherapists, so used to helping patients through their own personal crises, may find themselves at a loss when thinking about the climate crisis. We are the people to whom others turn when experiencing their own crises. We may be great at dealing with drug addictions and sexual abuse but what about the climate crisis? The question is by no means simple. We may view our role at strictly confined to the consulting room: the unconscious phantasies and internal dynamics of our patients. Alternatively, we may think about steps we can take to lower our professional carbon footprints, for example, by attending a conference such as this online rather than in person. We may also consider our potential to impact society on a wider level. As professionals, we have a unique insight into unconscious processes that could be of immense value to society. How can we begin to interpret the unconscious dynamics of the climate crisis?

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In a rich and thought-provoking paper, psychodynamic counsellor and political activist Rob Stuart will be exploring these themes, referencing his own experiences both inside and outside of the consulting room.

Dr Chris Douglas will then be invited to provide his response to the presentation, considering his own experience of working within an NHS psychotherapy service and the wider socio-political and environmental context.

The conversation will then continue after the break when audience members will be invited to share their thoughts and ask questions.

Rob Stuart is a Psychodynamic Counsellor registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council. Rob trained at Birkbeck College, University of London and spent five years as an Honorary Psychotherapist at CNWL NHS Foundation Trust. He has worked in general mental health since 2008 and has run a successful private practice in Walthamstow, East London since 2015.

As well as an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, Rob also has a degree in Philosophy and Politics and a graduate diploma in Psychology. He is a Director at OPUS – An Organisation for Promoting Understanding in Society – where he is responsible for the Listening Post, an international project designed to study unconscious aspects of global society.

Rob is a determined advocate of climate activism and has personally organised or been involved in a number of environmental protests under the auspices of Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil. As a consequence of his peaceful resistance against the UK Government, Rob now has a criminal record.

Rob is a passionate speaker and writer on the subject of unconscious aspects of the climate crisis. He has spoken at OPUS conferences, Birkbeck Counselling Association study days and the Political Mind seminars at the Institute of Psychoanalysis. He has had articles published by New Associations, the Climate Psychology Alliance, Open Democracy and Organisational and Social Dynamics.

Dr Chris Douglas is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Medical Psychotherapy in South West Yorkshire. He is Co-Chair of the Accreditation Committee of the UK Balint Society, and former Chair of the Harry Guntrip Psychotherapy Trust.

Joanne Miley is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, and Associate Member of the Institute of Group Analysis. She works in the NHS as a tutor on the Professional Doctorate in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Northern School of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy NSCAP; where she is also the Lead for Service Supervisors of trainee child psychotherapists. For several years she taught infant observation on the Tavistock Inter-cultural Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (D59) and was a tutor on the Tavistock and Portman MA Psychodynamic Approaches to Working with Adolescents. She has a private practice near Wetherby.