Open seminar

Mental health impacts of climate change in the Philippines

Date: 5 December 2023
Time: 14:00-15:30

Venue: Institute for Futures Studies, Holländargatan 13 in Stockholm

The project Global Social Norms (GSN) aims to organize global studies of social norms, how they vary across societies and change over time. The project relies on researchers in many countries across the world (see the full list on the project website globalsocialnorms.org), and one of them is John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta at De La Salle University in the Philippines. 

Abstract

This lecture focuses on the mental health impacts of climate change in the Philippines, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Using Global South and climate justice perspectives, the lecture looks into how climate injustice is linked with the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis on people in the Philippines, and its mental health implications. The session also showcases the efforts to build a community of practice for climate change and mental health intersection in the country. 

John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. His research program includes 1) the application of psychology principles in promoting environmental sustainability, 2) the interface between climate change and mental health in the Global South context, 3) planetary health, and 4) the mental health of neglected and marginalized populations. He is an Associate Editor of the journal Global Environmental Psychology and is a member of the Editorial Board of BMC Psychology and Nature Communications Psychology. Dr. Aruta is also an active clinical practitioner in the Philippines, providing mental health assessment,counseling, and psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and early adults.

The talk is open for anyone interested, welcome!


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