Climate Cafés (Natalie Thomas)

Program & Host Organization

Climate Cafés is an initiative offered by Thomas Counselling, a for-profit mental health practice based in Guelph, Ontario. The program provides guided spaces for people to share and explore their emotional responses to the climate crisis, facilitated by a climate-aware psychotherapist.

Location & Scope

The initiative operates across Canada through virtual sessions and serves participants primarily in Ontario. Online delivery allows individuals from different regions to attend, and the facilitator is exploring opportunities to offer in-person cafés locally.

Who It Serves

The program is open to the general public and is designed for anyone experiencing climate-related distress. It also provides training and workshops for mental health practitioners, including therapists, counsellors, and other helping professionals.

Climate & Mental Health Focus

Climate Cafés focuses on the emotional and psychological impacts of climate change, including eco-anxiety, grief, guilt, anger, and existential concerns. It addresses the rising distress linked to fires, floods, and other climate impacts, and offers a supportive environment where participants can openly express and understand their feelings.

Activities & Format

Sessions occur monthly and last about 1.5 hours. They are delivered virtually, with participants joining flexibly rather than as a cohort. Activities center on facilitated group dialogue, reflective sharing, mindfulness-based approaches, and creative exercises. The facilitator also provides training for practitioners and conducts related research on Internal Family Systems-informed Climate Café models.

Inclusion & Accessibility

The program aims to create a culturally humble, trauma-informed, and inclusive environment. It is attentive to the needs of participants from climate-affected regions, students from diverse backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities. The facilitator works with participants to foster safe, respectful, and accessible sessions.

Outcomes & Evidence

The initiative aims to help participants name and understand their climate emotions, feel less alone, and build a sense of hope and resilience. Long-term goals include reducing the stigma around climate distress and supporting healthier emotional coping. Evaluation is informal and based on end-of-session check-ins. The approach draws on emerging research on climate cafés and evidence from Internal Family Systems theory, co-regulation, and peer-supported emotional processing.

Guiding Principles

The program reflects principles of emotional processing, optimism, social connection, emotional resilience, trauma-informed practice, and collective responsibility. It emphasizes shared emotional experience, compassionate facilitation, and the creation of supportive community spaces.

Resources & Sustainability

The initiative has no dedicated budget and is sustained through minimal resources, relying primarily on a laptop, internet connection, and self-funded supplies for occasional in-person offerings.

Team & Partners

The program is solely facilitated by Natalie Thomas, a registered psychotherapist with specialized training in climate-aware therapy and Climate Psychology Alliance methods. No additional team members or partners were identified.

Challenges & Context

Interest in the cafés can fluctuate, and participants sometimes register without attending. Seasonal climate events, such as wildfires, influence demand. Additional support, outreach, and space for in-person sessions would help expand the initiative.