Friday, May 27, 2022, 8:00 a.m.
Richcraft Hall
2nd Floor Conference Rooms
The Stress, Trauma and Resilience (STAR) Working Group is an interdisciplinary research group embedded within the CHAIM Centre, consisting of diverse research members from within and outside Carleton. Our one-day symposium will consist of several speakers, round table discussions, student poster presentations and a networking event.
About the Symposium
There has been an increased response to climate change as awareness spreads worldwide. At the same time, the alarm has also had some unintended negative consequences. Increasingly, individuals have been reporting diverse mental health symptoms (e.g., as grief, guilt, anger, and despair), which have been dubbed ‘eco-anxiety’. Of course, the psychological distress associated with climate change may promote biological alterations that favour stress-related physical pathologies including those related to disturbed immune function and elevated inflammatory processes.
This is further aggravated by toxicants that are already sufficiently high to produce severe illnesses. In fact, it is estimated that at this time there are already millions of deaths every year attributable to climate change. Disasters such as “Once in a hundred year” disasters are occurring on a yearly basis.
The symposium wishes to examine climate change and its relation to health crises, focusing on the impact on mental health and well-being. We welcome attendees from all disciplines with interest in climate change and health, including: those in the life sciences, social sciences, environmental sciences, public health and science policy.
Keynote Speaker
André Picard
Staff Columnist, The Globe and Mail
André Picard is a health reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of five bestselling books.
André is an eight-time nominee for the National Newspaper Awards, Canada’s top journalism prize, and past winner of prestigious Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service Journalism.
He was named Canada’s first “Public Health Hero” by the Canadian Public Health Association, as a “Champion of Mental Health” by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his dedication to improving healthcare.
André is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and has received honorary doctorates from six universities, including UBC and the University of Toronto.
