Metacrisis Distress: How can we support ourselves (and others) through it?
The world is facing unprecedented, interconnected challenges – from climate breakdown and ecological collapse to social fragmentation and economic instability. This complex web of issues, sometimes referred to as the 'metacrisis' or ‘polycrisis’, will eventually impact everyone.
While I have talked a lot about climate grief or eco anxiety, I have come to realise that there are many conflicting, interconnected crises all unfolding at the same time - from the rise of fascism and the risks of WWIII to a growing mental health crisis. Together, perhaps we can refer to the metacrisis (the common factor behind everything) or the polycrisis (many crises all happening at once).
Living through the metacrisis generates profound emotional, psychological, and spiritual distress - even if we’re not consciously aware of why we feel the way we do. While we might be struggling to process our own feelings about what’s happening in the world, many of us are working as coaches, therapists, spiritual healers, or other space-holders, so the further question arises - how do we hold space for our clients, too, as well as perhaps our friends, family and other loved ones?
I recently interviewed Deep Adaptation coach and good friend Matthew Painton about what he calls “bigger-than-self distress”, metacrisis distres and Deep Adaptation:
There’s a question that presents itself as more and more people start to wake up to the myriad crisis we’re facing: Are traditional modalities of therapy or coaching really equipped to support people navigating these challenges?
The Limitations of Business As Usual
I’m currently reading Climate, Psychology and Change: Reimagining Psychotherapy in an Era of Global Disruption and Climate Anxiety by Steffi Bednarek. It, and her work through the Centre for Climate Psychology, suggest something different from the usual world of one-to-one therapist/client conversations that so many of us are used to; incorporating indigenous healing modalities, group work, nature connection, movement and music, to name a few things.
For many people, approaching their ‘regular’ therapist or coach with their distress about everything happening in the world can be met with gaslighting (“it’s not really that bad - you’re catastrophising”), and the reaction can feel like dismissal.
There’s a high chance the coach or therapist hasn’t faced the magnitude of collapse themselves, or doesn’t feel equipped to address it. After all, most training programmes look at work conflicts or small interpersonal issues, not fear about fascism and a collapsing biosphere.
As Holly Truhlar puts it more bluntly: “Most “helping professionals” are steeped in consensus reality and remain ignorant and in denial about oppressive systems, the climate crisis, and impending social collapse. Barely anyone wants to talk seriously (professionally) about abrupt climate change and impending social collapse because there’s fear of overwhelm, despair, and losing credibility.. the field lacks vocabulary, training, and capacity to respond in an honest way, and so we continue to enable sociopathic behavior under the guise of creating empowered or autonomous individuals.”
It’s important to remember why therapy and coaching often exist in the first place… Traditional approaches to coaching and healing often operate with a contract focused on individual benefit and, as Matthew put it in our interview, "better functioning in this reality". The problem is, this "reality" – often termed 'business as usual' – is deeply dysfunctional and in deep denial about the scope scale gravity of the the planetary crisis.
If you’re a therapist or coach (or other healing professional) who’s been hearing more and more worries about the state of the world, and you don’t feel equipped to hold space, you’re not alone. The good news is, more and more people in the field have been moving towards this for a few years - with spaces such as the Climate Psychology Alliance, Work that Reconnects network and many more popping up to create community and resources for those both holding the space for others and doing their own processing work.
Evolving Practice for the Metacrisis
Meeting the challenges of the metacrisis requires an evolution in how we approach coaching and therapy. It's not simply about applying existing tools to new content; it involves a fundamental shift in perspective and practice. The following points come out of my conversation with Matthew (above).
Acknowledging and Holding Space: The first crucial step is to welcome and validate the distress related to the metacrisis. This means creating a space where feelings like grief, fear, and rage are seen as a measure of your humanity and your evolutionary maturity and a normal reaction to what's happening to the planet. Knowing that these issues are welcome, even if they aren't the sole focus, is vital.
Shifting from 'Coaching' to 'Accompaniment': Matthew suggests that for this kind of work, "accompaniment" might be a better word than coaching. He explains, "coaching has that sort of implication of being more successful... And I accompany people as they as they journey through their process of becoming aware of the scope scale momentum and trajectory of the planetary crisis".
This reframes the practitioner's role from helping someone 'succeed' in a broken system to being present with them as they grapple with difficult truths and seek their path forward. We’re in this together.Embracing Authenticity: Unlike traditional approaches that emphasise practitioner neutrality, meeting the metacrisis calls for a different dynamic. When I facilitate spaces, I bring my own pain, grief and fear into the room, too - I don’t want people to feel I have somehow “solved it”. There is no solving it; to stay awake and alive to what’s happening in the planet means to be in touch with these emotions. However, this requires skill and intentionality to ensure the client doesn't feel burdened with holding space for you!
The Power of Community: While one-to-one work is valuable, the sources highlight the critical role of community.... Group settings offer a kind of "co-processing" that doesn't happen individually. Community provides "a bigger container and a richer container to sort of express and metabolise our distress", says Matthew, and "massively enhances resilience”.
Beyond Fixing Feelings to Finding Enlivenment: The aim is not to "fix the bad feelings and go back to business as usual". Instead, by metabolising distress, particularly feelings often suppressed like grief and fear, we can unlock "enlivenment" and aliveness. Joanna Macy often talks about how, when we unblock our grief, fear, rage, etc, we also unblock our capacity to feel joy.
This "more than me enlivenment enables us to act on behalf of what we love", says Matthew. "We can't be distressed and enlivened at the same time. It's a kind of an either/or". The 'sacred alchemy' is in "transmuting that distress into more than me enlivenment".Embracing Not Knowing: Acknowledging that "nobody has navigated an apocalypse before" means embracing uncertainty. Coaches and therapists often need to work on their ego; on the idea that they know, deep down, what is best for the client or the best solution. Catch yourself feeling judgemental, or thinking that the client is overreacting, and accept that you have no idea what the future holds, either. Evolved practice holds space for this not knowing without needing to find answers or predictable outcomes.
Resourcing Ourselves: Connecting with sources of resilience beyond the individual self is crucial. This can involve nature connection, mindfulness, spiritual or cosmological connection, and honouring indigenous wisdom. There is no way we can hold space for other people’s metacrisis distress if we are not resourcing ourselves, finding spaces to hold us, and practicing what we preach.
Continuous Learning and Peer Support: Given the pioneering nature of this work, peer support and co-learning are essential for practitioners. Networks and groups provide spaces for "intervision," sharing experiences, experimenting with new approaches, and "evolving best practice”. We are on the edge of something quite new, and none of us truly know how to best support people - so we need to collaborate, not compete.
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Matthew and I are offering a Community of Practice / Coaching Lab for 14 weeks, starting in September, for a maximum of 6 people - read more and sign up here: https://forms.gle/sAw8tHHDMVXxvnfd8
Resources
Whether you’re a practitioner looking to evolve your practice or you’re looking for support for your own metacrisis distress, here are some resources:
The Work That Reconnects Network: Offers tools and practices for healing pain for the world and finding a new perspective, based on the transformational work of Joanna Macy.
Deep Adaptation Community/Forum: Provides a database of collapse practitioners, free offerings like Death Cafes, Deep Listening circles, Collapse Club, and a monthly Welcoming Circle.
Good Grief Network - Offers peer support programs to help individuals process eco-anxiety and build resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
Climate Psychology Alliance - Brings together professionals exploring the psychological dimensions of climate change and promoting emotional responses alongside action.
Climate Coaching Alliance - A network of coaches integrating climate awareness into personal and professional development to foster transformative change.
Matthew Painton - Deep Adaptation Coach - provides coaching rooted in the Deep Adaptation framework, helping individuals navigate emotional and existential responses to societal and ecological collapse.
Centre for Climate Psychology - offers online learning experiences that transform embedded cultural, emotional and relational habits, weaving psychological and systemic wisdom into the way we think, act and lead in a time of upheaval.
Evolving as a coach or therapist in the age of the metacrisis means moving beyond traditional models focused solely on individual success within a dysfunctional system. It involves courageously facing the reality of planetary crisis, metabolising personal and collective distress, fostering community, embracing uncertainty, and supporting others in finding their own path of meaningful action. It is challenging, ongoing work, but it is inherently worthwhile and can be deeply enlivening. By adapting our practices, we can offer vital accompaniment to those navigating these turbulent times.
