Environ-Mental Health
In This Section

Environ-Mental Health

Overview 

Environ-Mental Health is a strengths-based, socio-environmental approach that understands mental health as grounded in our relationships with nature, place and community. It brings together climate-related emotional impacts, disaster recovery, nature-based wellbeing, environmental efficacy and agency, and community resilience to guide prevention, early intervention and scalable supports in a changing climate. 

Why is this research area important? 

Climate change is reshaping how young people feel, learn and connect. Acute events (heat, smoke, floods) and slower stresses (uncertainty, loss of place or livelihood, perceived injustice) drive anxiety, grief and loneliness, often compounding existing disadvantage. Evidence is fragmented across subfields, making it hard for schools, services and communities to know what works, for whom, and where. 

What this area delivers 

  • Measuring impact: Build a clear picture of how the built and natural environment, including climate change, affects mental health and wellbeing. Addressing who is most affected, in which contexts, and through what mechanisms. 

  • Identify needs: Use common measures and participatory approaches to identify needs early and equitably across schools, communities and clinical services. 

  • Interventions: Co-design, evaluate and implement effective supports (e.g., nature-based, peer-led, digital, social prescribing) that reduce disaster impacts, build climate resilience and improve wellbeing. 

  • Practice & policy: Generate comparable evidence to inform policy, commissioning and funding, and equip young people and communities to take meaningful, wellbeing-supporting climate action. 

  • Workforce & collaboration: Build capacity through training, toolkits and communities of practice, and foster cross-sector partnerships (education, health, environment, emergency management, youth organisations) to scale what works. 

Key research questions 

  • Which aspects of the built and natural environment most strongly influence youth mental health and wellbeing, for which groups, through what mechanisms, and in which contexts? 

  • How should we measure climate-related mental health outcomes consistently across studies and services, and reduce inequities for priority groups? 

  • Which interventions are most effective, acceptable and scalable in schools, clinical services and communities? 

  • How can we design clear pathways that identify needs early and connect young people to appropriate care? 

Current research projects 

 Platform for Research and Interventions in youth Mental health and the Environment (PRIME) 

PRIME is an NHMRC-funded research platform co-led by A/Prof Caroline Gao (Orygen, University of Melbourne) and A/Prof Rebecca Patrick (University of Melbourne). PRIME accelerates the development, evaluation and implementation of group-based interventions addressing climate-related mental health impacts in young people (12–25 years). 

EcoConnections: Building community for those concerned about climate and the environment

EcoConnections, led by Orygen Project Coordinator, Dr Jana Menssink,  is a green social-prescribing model co-designed with young people (16–29) and delivered with Museums Victoria and the University of Melbourne. It blends environmental and other hands-on activities and peer facilitation to build social connection, reduce isolation and cultivate agency. 

Y-CARE: Youth Co-Designing Adaptations for Resilience and Empowerment 

Y-CARE is an international collaboration between CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry, Foundry BC in Canada, Orygen and headspace in Australia. The project brings together climate-concerned youth (16–25) to co-design a youth-led support model for addressing climate distress and building resilience. At Orygen, this collaboration is co-led by Dr Hasini Gunasiri and Dr Jana Menssink. 

Resources