Dealing with the climate crisis and eco-emotions in psychotherapy - a training for future medical and psychological psychotherapists using standardized patient scenarios.

Objectives: Practitioners and institutions have stated a need for training on how to work with patients who experience various forms of eco-emotions as an addition to existing curricula in psychotherapy training. Even though first suggestions for psychotherapeutic approaches to eco-emotions exist, these have not been translated into training concepts so far. Methods: The aim of the presented project was to develop and implement a training on dealing with eco-emotions in psychotherapy, based on the framework of competency-based education. A one-day training was developed according to Kern's cycle. It consisted of i) a lecture, ii) three role-play scenarios with standardized patients, and iii) reflecting group discussions, and was offered three times to a total of n=23 medical and psychological psychotherapists in training at the Heidelberg Institute for Psychotherapy (HIP) in Heidelberg, Germany. The implementation was evaluated regarding feasibility, the educational strategies were evaluated regarding usefulness, and the effects of the training on a gain in competencies were evaluated through self-assessment. Results: The implementation of the training showed to be feasible. Being an observer during the scenarios and being the acting therapist was ranked to be equally useful for gains in competency. Acceptance for all role play scenarios was high, and participants reported a significant gain in self-assessed competencies. Implications: Training competencies in working with eco-emotions in psychotherapy is feasible and can be integrated into psychotherapy curricula. Competency-based education as a framework and the use of standardized patients are well suited to train participants in dealing with eco-emotions in psychotherapy.