From Psychological Distress to Collective Action – A One Health Perspective Tuesday, 06. October 2026, at 06:30 pm CET University Hospital Augsburg, Room U1.117 Prior registration is required, by 02. October at the latest

Registration

Abstract of the Talk 

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major threat to human health and well-being. Its impact on mental health ranges from the consequences of extreme weather events, heat, displacement and conflict to psychological distress arising from the awareness of ongoing and anticipated ecological change. Climate anxiety should thereby not per se be understood as a mental disorder, but may represent an understandable and potentially adaptive response to a real environmental threat. This talk approaches climate anxiety from a psychological and Global Mental Health perspective embedded within the broader framework of One Health. From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety may facilitate threat detection and adaptive behavior, while selfefficacy and agency may determine whether climaterelated distress results in helplessness or meaningful action. Current psychological approaches will be discussed. Finally, Indigenous relational understandings of health are introduced to broaden the perspective: climate anxiety may call for restoring meaningful relationships with our communities and environment and for individual and collective action.

About ARISE

ARISE (Augsburger Nachwuchsprogramm für Organismus, Nervensystem und Umwelt) is a junior research training program at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg. It is a funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation (EKFS) and aims to educate and further train young physicians at the interface of environmental sciences and translational neuroscience. By inviting leading researchers and experts, the ARISE seminar series offers a platform for graduate students, staff, researchers, clinician scientists, and professors of the faculty to learn on emerging issues in the field, discuss relevant scientific challenges and opportunities, and facilitate networking and collaboration across research groups, chairs, departments, and universities. For more information, please visit our page or write to us at arise@med.uniaugsburg.de

About the Speaker

PD Dr. med. Andrea Jobst-Heel is a senior physician at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at LMU University Hospital Munich and a Privatdozentin (habilitated lecturer) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. At the Center for International Health (CIH) of LMU University Hospital, she serves as a Board Member for the Global Mental Health division and heads the Global Mental Health Research Group. Her clinical and scientific focus areas include affective and trauma-related disorders, psychotherapy research, social determinants of mental health, and global mental health. In international research and collaboration projects, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, she works on developing and implementing sustainable approaches to improving mental health. Another key focus is the intersection of mental health and One Health, including the psychological effects of climate and environmental change.