On 29 January 2011 13:32, Corluminous <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I think this widening of the discourse, with regard to the psycho-social aspect, would be fruitful.

Kindest regards

Corneilius

www.corneilius.net

"do what you love it's your gift to the universe!"

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From: Alastair McIntosh <[log in to unmask]>

To: [log in to unmask]

Sent: Sat, 29 January, 2011 7:50:20

Subject: Re: The psychoanalyst community - new members for the CRISIS FORUM list?

I’d be all in favour of more psychology – I think it’s where the cutting edge of the debate has got to be at just now – but with the proviso that psychology on its own very easily disappears up its own backside, and so it’s important (perhaps in the moderation) to ensure that the science continues to be discussed on this site. The science is the finger on the pulse of what’s happening in physical reality. The psychology, and especially its sociological link through into the politics, is about what we can (or cannot, as the case may be) do about it. We need the whole shebang for a balanced list.

I was fascinated by the example of the dam and disaster perception, by the way. You see it also with dirty industries, where perversely the people living close to a plant often seem to embrace it in a way those further away don’t. You see it also with street violence, where the violent guy can have a perverse “respect” because of what he’s done. Seems to me to be all variations on the Stockholm syndrome and the manner in which one of our responses to fear can be to try and get on side with what we fear by perversely “loving” it. So there we are – the sadomasochistic dynamics of climate change. What to do about it? The only way forward I can see is to use the crises of the world to deepen yearning and understanding into what gives life, but that’s a very long term agenda, and many of the issues we’re looking at are on short temporal wavelengths (which, to me, is what defines them as violent dynamics).

A

From: Discussion list for the Crisis Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jon Barrett
Sent: 28 January 2011 23:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The psychoanalyst community - new members for the CRISIS FORUM list?

Torsten, I agree that such an invitation would add constructively to the discussions of this forum.

I also belong to the Conservation Psychology listserve, as I think do one or two other members of this forum (and also some of the speakers and delegates at the IOP conference you speak of). However, participation in this CP listserve is largely North American with a small amount of input from the UK, Australia and elsewhere and is extremely wide-ranging in the conservation topics raised (i.e much broader than psychological responses to climate change).

But I don't know of a 'crises psychology' or even a conservation psychology listserve in the UK. Yet the interests of the largely UK based psychologists and psychotherapists at the IOP conference would seem to be very much in line with our own and I suspect that inviting those with a professional psychological perspective to add to the range of specialisms and interests of members of this forum would of mutual benefit.

So, seconded!

Jon
On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 6:49 PM, Torsten Mark Kowal <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Colleagues:

In the early autumn last year I went to a 2-day weekend conference of the Institute of Psychoanalysis http://www.psychoanalysis.org.uk, to hear how the IOP is taking on board the concerns raised by climate change for mental health, and how they analyse denial as a psychological phenomenon. You can see the topics covered, and who the speakers and discussants were, below.

The event was well-attended, with substantial and serious discussion. As part of the follow-up, the conference organisers contacted the participants for suggestions about what actions would benefit the IOP's outreach into this critical domain.

The Proceedings of the event are to be published and will be found here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engaging-Climate-Change-Psychoanalytic-Perspectives/dp/0415667607

It struck me that, the psychoanalysis community could have a lot to offer to CRISIS FORUM http://www.crisis-forum.org.uk. At the same time, engaging with CF would lead this group to engage with the views from the broad branches of mature opinion on this topic that's available across multiple disciplines from CF members. I propose writing to Marjory Goodall (see her email below) so that she then invites the membership of the Institute, and the conference participants from outside IOP, to sign up for CF's mailing list, using the list to continue to discuss the topics raised at the event.

This would enrich the CF community and provide an opportunity for a wide new set of topics to be covered, injecting 'new blood' into CF and likely deepening our analyses, as well as providing a "big tent" for this specialist community to explore topics and their theses.

As well, I would suggest that she proposes to the participants and discussants at the event (from the wider public, universities and NGOs etc. outside IOP's membership). This potentially could further broaden and increase CF's membership with a further set of people and views.

However, I am not the list owner, and I don't feel that I can make this invitation to a potentially large number of new entrants to CF, without communication to the list.

So I'd like to ask if there is support for this suggestion across CF, as well as objections. If a sense accumulates on the list against this idea by the end of next weekend, or apathy reigns, I'll desist.

Bob Ward and David Wasdell were the CF members that I know attended; Bob and David, if you have a moment to advise us on your views, I'm sure your opinions would be valued.

With regards to the topics this would lead CF to cover in more depth, I refer you to a paper for the Four Degrees and Beyond Conference in Sept. 2009 titled Psychological Adaptation to the Threats and Stresses of a Four Degree World, written by Clive Hamilton (Professor of Public Ethics at Australian National University) and Tim Kasser (Professor of psychology in the Dept. of Psychology at Knox College, Illinois, USA) that states:

"At present most governments and environmental organisations adopt a ‘don’t scare the horses’ approach, fearful that exposing people fully to the scientific predictions will immobilise them. With climate scientists now stressing the need for extremely urgent action and spelling out more catastrophic impacts if action is inadequate, this now seems to us a dangerous approach to undertake". See here if links don't work:
http://www.clivehamilton.net.au/cms/media/documents/articles/oxford_four_degrees_paper_final.pdf

And Aaran Stibbe's truthful though alarming presentation: http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/lti/projects/religionandclimatechange/futureethics/workshop3/workshop3reports/starterpapers/fileuploadmax10mb,166350,en.pdf and then a direct medical metaphor for the planet http://www.climate-change-emergency-medical-response.org/state-of-the-climate.html

For in-depth information, then the American Psychological Association's report
Psychology and Global Climate Change: Addressing a Multi-faceted Phenomenon and Set of Challenges is here: http://www.apa.org/science/about/publications/climate-change.aspx

Some questions:
·         Isn't it the case that humankind will now be severely challenged psychologically over this decade and the next onwards, as we come to terms with the spiralling out of control of our climates, leading us to states of depression, guilt and anxiety, and prone to mal-adaptive coping strategies?

·         What are our own strategies for personally staying sane, under the pressure of knowing how our fates even in developed countries are becoming sealed?
·         What psychological support do communities that are already highly vulnerable to climate change need (in developing and developed countries), to properly face a future now certainly clouded by the constant increase in weather/climate chaos, leading to repeated onslaughts of meteorological events of greater energy, frequency and intensity?

·         Can we overcome the media's fear of the denialists, and turn the tables, so that it becomes legitimate again (within scientific bounds) to link severe weather with ongoing, accepted climate change?
·         Isn't it the case that denial as a phenomenon needs to be systematically unpicked even further, and tools found to tackle it's roots, before collective denial (here, in the USA, in China, everywhere!) results in further states of paralysis, business as usual emissions, and deepens our failure of responsibility to the generations from now on being born? How important is mortality salience in blame-shifting, and providing fuel for the denialists' defence of their worldview?

·         What are our strategies for dealing decisively with denial across the board, to reverse the trends in public attitudes, and win support for the extreme emissions reductions that will be needed?

·         Are we losing, or have we lost, an unwinnable battle? If so, what do we do about that?

I'd welcome contact via Skype or email with CF members who are interested in the psychological issues raised in adapting to the impacts of climate change (expected or already realised), and to the impacts of related crises & trends (i.e. biodiversity loss, food prices).

Kind regards,

Mark Kowal

Climate-Insight: http://www.climate-insight.com
Tels: UK mob: (0)782-759-2729
E: Torsten Mark Kowal <[log in to unmask] >
Skype ID: tmkowal Web: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tmkowal
Engaging with Climate Change: Psychoanalytic Perspectives

The Institute of Psychoanalysis, Byron House, 112a Shirland Road, London, W9 2EQ
Saturday 9.00-6.00pm, Sunday 9.00-5.00pm

How does our knowledge of climate change affect our sense of identity? What might underlie issues of connection with, and disconnection from, the natural world? How do we understand the denial of climate change? Speakers from the field of psychoanalysis explore these and other questions with scientists, environmentalists, writers, educationalists and policy makers. The conference aims to achieve a better understanding through interdisciplinary exchange.

Saturday 16th October 2010

09.00am: Registration and coffee

09.30am: Welcoming remarks, David Bell (President, Institute of Psychoanalysis), Tim Kasser, Sally Weintrobe

10.00am: “Great Expectations: some psychic consequences of the discovery of personal ecological debt", Rosemary Randall see http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/eco.2009.0034, with discussants Margaret Rustin and Bob Ward. Followed by a discussion

11.40am: Coffee, Cakes and Book Displays

12.10am: “The myth of apathy”, Renee Lertzman, with discussants Irma Brenman-Pick and Erik Bichard. Discussion

13.50pm: Lunch

14.50pm: “Different structures of feeling in relation to the natural world”, Michael Rustin, with discussants Jon Alexander and Ted Benton. Followed by a general discussion

16.30pm: Tea, Cake and Book Displays

17.00pm: Breakout groups

18.00pm: Wine, nibbles and wind down

Sunday 17th October 2010

09.00am: Summary of themes raised on Saturday, discussed by Lothar Bayer and Jeremy Gaines

09.30am: “Engaging with the natural world and with human nature”, Sally Weintrobe; discussants Tom Crompton and Mike Hannis. Discussion

11.10pm: Coffee, cakes and book display

11.30pm: ”Unconscious obstacles to caring for the planet”, John Keene, with discussants Michael Brearley and Bob HInshelwood. Followed by a general discussion.

13.10pm: Lunch

14.00pm: “Climate change denial in a perverse culture", Paul Hoggett, with discussants Stanley Cohen and John Steiner. Followed by a general discussion.

15.40pm: Tea, cake and book display

16.00pm: Plenary

17.00 Close of Conference

Speakers:

Dr Rosemary Randall is founder and director of Cambridge Carbon Footprint, a Cambridge based charity that uses approaches drawn from psychotherapy, social marketing and community work to engage diverse audiences in work on climate change.   She is the author of ‘A New Climate for Psychotherapy’’, an exploration of resistance to action on climate change and of ‘Carbon Conversations’ CCF’s handbook for their short courses exploring how to halve your carbon footprint.

Professor Michael Rustin is Head of Department of Sociology at the University of East London from 1974-88 and Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences   from 1991-2001. Visiting Fellow at the School of Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton in 1984-85. His current roles are primarily in research and research supervision, and as academic link between the University and the Tavistock Clinic, where there are over 25 UEL-accredited postgraduate courses.

Professor Paul Hoggett is Professor of Politics at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Also a psychoanalytic psychotherapist trained at the Lincoln Clinic and Centre for Psychotherapy. He is an experienced group relations consultant.

Mr John Keene is a Training Psychoanalyst of The Institute of Psychoanalysis and in private practice in London and St Albans. After commencing studies as a geologist he changed to humanities and first encountered psychoanalysis ‘live’ through Group Relations training events. His psychoanalytical interest in group, institutional and political processes developed while working at the Tavistock Clinic. He is an experienced organizational consultant.

Dr Renee Lertzman is a senior research fellow at Portland State University. She received her PhD from the Cardiff School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University and has a MA in Communication Studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work is concerned with the relations of psychoanalytic research and theory with contemporary environmental crises. She is special editor of Environment and Sustainability for Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society and is working on her book, The Myth of Apathy.

Mrs Sally Weintrobe is a Fellow of The Institute of Psychoanalysis and Chairs its Scientific Committee. She was formerly a Member of Senior Teaching Staff at the Tavistock Clinic and an Hon Senior Lecturer at University College London in the Dept for Psychoanalytic Studies. She has written and lectured on identity and entitlement attitudes, grievance, prejudice and greed. Her most recent paper was on runaway greed and climate change denial.

Discussants:

· Jon Alexander, Conservation Economy

· Dr Lothar Bayer, Psychoanalyst, Member of the German Psychoanalytic Association (DPV)

· Ted Benton, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex

· Erik Bichard, Professor of Regeneration and Sustainable Development, Salford University

· Michael Brearley, Psychoanalyst, Fellow of The Institute of Psychoanalysis

· Irma Brenman Pick, Training Psychoanalyst, The Institute of Psychoanalysis

· Stanley Cohen, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, LSE

· Dr Tom Crompton, Change Strategist, WWF UK

· Dr. Jeremy Gaines, Writer on art, architecture and political theory, with a focus on sustainability and Africa

· Dr Mike Hannis, Hon. Research Fellow, School of Politics, International Relations and the Environment, Keele University

· Bob Hinshelwood, Psychoanalyst, Fellow of The Institute of Psychoanalysis and Professor. in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex

· Margaret Rustin, Child and Adult Psychotherapist and Child Psychoanalyst

· Dr John Steiner, Training Psychoanalyst, The Institute of Psychoanalysis

· Bob Ward, Policy and Communications Director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE

· Nicky Gavron, Greater London Assembly, will lead the plenary discussion.

· David Bell, who will open the conference, is President of The Institute of Psychoanalysis, a Training Psychoanalyst and a Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy in the Adult Department at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. He lectures and publishes widely on various subjects including philosophy and socio-political theory and is one of the UK's leading psychiatric experts in asylum and immigration.

· Tim Kasser, who will also give an opening address, is Professor and Chair of Psychology at Knox College. He has written extensively on materialism, values, goals, well-being, and environmental sustainability.

From: "Marjory Goodall" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: FEEDBACK - "Engaging with Climate Change: Psychoanalytic Perspectives", 16-17 October 2010 - Institute of Psychoanalysis

Dear Conference Delegate,

Thank you very much for coming and taking part in our conference "Engaging with Climate Change: Psychoanalytic Perspectives", 16-17 October.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to e-mail us with feedback about the conference. I am interested in all aspects of your experience and also if you have any suggestions as to how we can build on the conference and ideas for future events and workshops that people might find useful.

Obviously we may not be able to take up all the suggestions but it would be very helpful to have your views and suggestions.

We do apologise for the lack of sound in the first session. It was one of those really unfortunate and unpredictable things - a cable had shorted. In the end, during the following week, it proved hard to diagnose but then simple to fix.

Best wishes,

Sally Weintrobe

--
Jon Barrett
Le projet pour une vie durable
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29620 Guimaec
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00 33 (0)2 98 67 68 87

Converging Crises blog: www.jontybarrett.wordpress.com

Goastelliou website: www.goastelliou.wordpress.com

"La vie durable – ce n’est pas la même que la développement durable!"