معرفی
Dr. Debbie Crawford Sturm serves as Professor at James Madison University and contributing faculty at Walden University, with leadership roles in ACA’s Climate Crisis Task Force and Climate Psychology Alliance. Her career bridges clinical counseling, environmental advocacy, and climate justice education.
Her research pioneers the mental health-climate change nexus, examining trauma responses to ecological crises, eco-grief manifestations, and resilience strategies for vulnerable populations. Specializing in nature-connected therapeutic modalities, she develops frameworks for addressing climate anxiety, displacement trauma, and environmental injustice through family systems and community-based approaches.
Dr. Sturm’s scholarly impact includes foundational publications on climate-mental health connections, with emphasis on social justice implications. Her work analyzes disproportionate climate impacts on marginalized communities, climate migration trauma, and therapeutic interventions for eco-distress.
- 2013 SACES Award for Outstanding Teaching
- 2020 SACES Courtland Lee Social Justice Award
- 2021 Counselors for Social Justice Climate Justice Award
As an active clinician and educator, she mentors future counselors in trauma-informed climate response while advancing policy through ACA committees. Her Climate Reality Leadership Corps certification informs community resilience training that integrates mental health perspectives into climate adaptation planning. Dr. Sturm’s national presentations shape counseling practices for climate-related psychological impacts across diverse populations.
