Maturing conversations: developing climate engagement through group dialogues

Climate change is a threat to global ecosystems, societies and psychological well-being. As a collectively driven phenomena, I argue that it requires collective responses and action. In order to ease the trauma of awakening to, and engaging with, climate and ecological breakdown, I suggest that individuals and communities need to build safe containers and establish support to help us recognize resistance, explore defences and feel into the territory beyond the known and familiar. Using participatory research as a case study, this paper considers the often intense feelings of confusion, tension and fear that can be generated by climate disruption, and the developmental processes that can arise when these feelings are well supported and contained. My experience suggests that when people are given a safe facilitated space to identify and share their feelings and thoughts, fears and hopes, dreams and images with others, it stimulates a creative process of collective engagement and sense-making that has the potential to seed personal and social transformation and action. I suggest that Jungian practitioners in particular can play a valuable role by facilitating dialogues and inquiries which are attuned to collective symbolic processes and which incorporate the imaginal realm of story, dream, and image.