Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy · 2025
A Relational Approach in Ecological Collapse: Applying Gehart's Therapy That Works to Climate Distress in Families
This paper, authored by AkindaCo senior therapist Rana Kökçinar, conceptualises climate distress as a relational and systemic response to ecological collapse rather than an individual psychological disorder. Drawing on Gehart's integrative Therapy That Works framework, it positions climate anxiety, grief and moral distress as meaningful reactions shaped by family relationships, sociopolitical context and intergenerational dynamics.
Using a family case example, the paper illustrates how differing levels of awareness, engagement and emotional response to climate change can generate relational tension, avoidance or polarisation within families. A relational approach is proposed that prioritises emotional validation, shared meaning-making and values-based dialogue, while remaining ethically engaged with the realities of ecological collapse.
Overall, the paper argues for a shift away from symptom-focused interventions toward relational practices that support connection, agency and ethical responsibility, emphasising the role of therapists in holding ecological realities alongside family wellbeing.
Why this matters for practice
The move it asks for is the same move at the centre of our family therapy training: stop locating the difficulty inside one person, and start reading it as something that lives between people and inside a context.
Full reference
Kökçinar, R. R. (2025). A Relational Approach in Ecological Collapse: Applying Gehart's Therapy That Works to Climate Distress in Families. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 46(4), e70028. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.70028
This paper informs how we teach systemic practice at AkindaCo. See Family Therapy Foundations, our two-day family therapy training in Adelaide, or the rest of our research.