Nature-based programs can improve mental health, but can they help those affected by climate change?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-05 03:00

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Nature-based programs can help improve mental health but it's not clear how effective they are for those whose mental health has been impacted by climate change, according to international research. The team collected previous reviews of the evidence around nature-based interventions for mental health to assess the quality of data, and found 28 reviews encompassing 344 studies. They say there was evidence of moderate credibility that nature-based interventions were linked to improved mental health, but the evidence around programs specifically to help people whose mental health had been impacted by climate events was limited and of low credibility. They say with little quality research available on the capacity for nature-based programs to specifically help those with climate change-related poor mental health, strategies to help this group will need to rely on what we know more generally about the positive impact of nature for now.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Psychiatry

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Funder: This project is funded by the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics through the Climate and Mental Health Grant.

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