“Climate resiliency” is a new buzzword in environmental communications. Buzzwords are exciting because when successful, they convey important concepts in a compact and compelling way. At the same time, it is easy to assume audience understanding and for terms to be co-opted over time.

Majorities of Americans are concerned about climate change, yet we’ve arrived at another Earth Day with insufficient action at the federal and local level to address the severity of the climate crisis. 

Perhaps the messengers are carrying the wrong message by largely leaving out morals and values.

While there is much talk these days about resilience, it tends to be defined in terms of relationships, resources and infrastructures. However a vital element is often overlooked – the need for emotional resilience. Emotional resilience is the capacity to hold space for loss, upheaval, and shock – allowing us to process, feel, and experience impacts. As psychotherapists can tell us, this "pause" is what builds real resilience. And it is needed now more than ever.