You may have heard me speak or write about imagining your mind as "Your Psychological “Operating System" with cognitive “programs” that guide how you think about yourself, get along with others, and perform at work and at home. And, to improve our operating system, we must deal with “Overcoming Your Psychological “Code Debt” – the [...]
I wanted to share this webinar that I presented recently at Antioch University New England on coping with climate change and other environmental issues. This was presented to conservation professionals from zoos, aquariums, universities, government organizations, and nonprofits. But, it's also applicable to everyone and shares some insights and techniques that I use when working [...]
As the damage and economic losses from climate change grow, so too do the emotional impacts of climate change. When an entire island like Puerto Rico is threatened to be uninhabitable or an entire town like Paradise, CA is burned to the ground with a loss of 86 lives, impacts of climate change become much [...]
What does adulthood mean for men in 2017? And what does science say makes a happy adulthood? Is there an optimum way to communicate your emotions in relationships? How can you make the most of the victories and losses in your past, and set positive goals for the future? How can you connect with nature [...]
Given today’s inauguration, I wanted to share some thoughts from my perspective as a psychologist. For the record, I am a registered Independent voter in Oregon. Outside of my research and teaching, much of my work goes on behind the scenes in private conversations with people. My approach to psychology has always been that political [...]
Thomas gave two invited talks on the mental health impacts of climate change for the Columbia University Global Mental Health Program in New York, New York. • Mental Health Impacts of Global Climate Change: Beyond a Disaster Framework | 11/14/16 • Studying Climate Global Climate Change Is a Personal Growth Opportunity | 11/15/16
On November 16, 2016, Thomas delivered a talk titled “Nature and Mental Health in the 21st Century” for Health Ignite 2016, an event hosted by the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO), at OMSI in Portland, Oregon. Health Ignite was a high-energy evening of 5-minute talks by speakers from the local Portland community on the topics of [...]
On November 2, 2016 the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California hosted a day-long forum titled “Climate Change Messaging that Works: Psychological Perspectives.” The forum brought climate scientists and psychologists together to develop strategies to motivate people to act on climate change. Thomas was a panelist and also member of a working group of experts [...]
Thomas led a workshop on environmental identity at Vive Northwest’s inaugural conference event, “Culturally Diversifying the Outdoors.” The event was designed to bring together organizations across the private, non profit and government sectors in the outdoor and nature industries to initiate a conversation around a strategy to make the outdoor spaces of the Pacific Northwest [...]
After psychologist Thomas Doherty consulted about the Portland Airport’s new food waste diversion program in 2012, the "Sort It and Win" program became more popular with employees and results improved 59%.* Why did this happen? Thomas applied some basic psychology principles to the program. If you are interested in learning more about the links between psychology, conservation, and sustainability, consider attending the Conservation Psychology course at Lewis & Clark Graduate School, October [...]
