Attachment, Climate Crisis and the Natural World

“This book provides hope for all of us working to embed environmental sustainability in our work. We are urged to put aside our unhelpful (albeit understandable) desire to blame others or to feel despondent. The authors, in lively prose, show how attachment theory can help us understand with compassion those in denial. And how we can heal our planet, with actions underpinned by healthier relationships with the natural world, others and ourselves.”

Daniel Harwood, consultant psychiatrist and Chair, Royal College of Psychiatrists Planetary Health and Sustainability Committee

“This collection is a vital addition to the growing library of resources available to climate aware psychotherapists, adding attachment-based perspectives to the field of climate psychology. A range of contributors, including speakers at the 2024 Bowlby Memorial Conference, make crucial links between attachment styles and our loss of connection and belonging, disconnection from our roots in land and culture, and our inability to confront the existential crisis we face. The reflections honour Bowlby and his commitment to the economic, environmental and relational realities of the individual within society.”

Tree Staunton, climate psychologist and UKCP Hon Fellow

“This remarkable collection brings together leading attachment‑oriented psychotherapists to illuminate one of the most urgent clinical challenges of our time: helping people face climate‑related fear, grief, and disorientation. Each chapter offers a distinct yet complementary lens, from Jeremy Holmes’ ecological reframing of attachment to James Angel’s bold questioning of psychotherapy’s relevance in a burning world. Through explorations of nature, art, story, loss, and belonging, the authors provide grounded, compassionate guidance. This is an essential, wise, and hopeful resource for clinicians, with a masterful postscript by Linda Cundy.”

Howard Steele,PhD, Professor of Psychology, The New School; Co-Director