The emotional cost of enormity

Many people experience climate change through feelings of overwhelm, guilt, and helplessness—emotions that can make taking action feel impossible. Research suggests, however, that when these difficult emotions are acknowledged and processed collectively and creatively people are more likely to feel motivated toward pro-social behaviour and participating in climate justice initiatives (Bleuer et al., 2025). This workshop invites participants to try evidence-based experiential exercises (Harnden, 2025), drama therapy and applied theatre techniques to explore emotional responses to climate change. The workshop moves participants through the identification of shared emotional patterns and challenges related to climate change, using creative methods to explore—and gently disrupt—the ways the crisis’s enormity can generate a sense of futility, and a belief that individual or collective efforts are meaningless. Through collective processing, the workshop seeks to open pathways toward connection, meaning, and renewed capacity for action.

About the workshop facilitator

Jessica Bleuer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Creative Art Therapies. Her research projects prioritize the resilience and knowledge of targeted groups, and current research focuses on using a Nervous-System Informed Theatre of the Oppressed to support educators to address racial and ethnic microaggressions in higher education classroom settings. Other research includes working with activists from various marginalized groups, newcomers, and LGBT2SIQ communities.

References

Bleuer, J., Oluoch, A.E., Lowry, A.W., Yong, B., Sweett, E., Kothare, E., Montgomery, M. and Dadzie, S.D., 2025. Wearing sunglasses to see more clearly: Drama therapy calls attention to the climate crisis. Drama Therapy Review, 11(1), pp.47-75.

Harnden, B., 2025. Our embodied presence and the climate crisis: Clinical commentary on the interplay between trauma, the nervous system, the climate crisis and drama therapy. Drama Therapy Review, 11(1), pp.107-116.

.