Climate change and rural mental health: a social geographic perspective

The objective of this commentary is to suggest ways in which current and future research on climate change and rural mental health can be enhanced by social geographic perspectives. As the effects of climate change escalate, the mental health of rural and remote communities will be placed at increasing risk. As such, it is imperative that academics and practitioners recognise the value of multidisciplinary approaches to tackling this issue.

As social geographers, the authors of this commentary outline concepts from their field that they find helpful in understanding the relationship between people and places, and how these relations give rise to emotions that are responsive to environmental conditions.

Ultimately, the authors would like to prompt a re-thinking of 'social' as a category, which is usually confined to interpersonal interactions between humans and suggest a broadening of the concept to include both human and non-human worlds.