On October 31, APA Services submitted comments (PDF, 278KB) to ensure that psychological science is adequately represented in a request for information published by SAMHSA to guide the agency’s future activities regarding mental health and substance use in the context of climate change and health equity. The association’s response builds on work from earlier this year to advocate for federal policy to address the effects of climate change on mental health and health equity, including APA’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act, which took major steps to curtail carbon emissions.
In the comments to SAMHSA, the association presented psychological science on several issues including advising the agency’s future priorities related to climate change, helping to ensure that behavioral health equity is included in action on climate change, and encouraging SAMHSA to use its role as a mental health expert within government to share the importance of its work with other government agencies. These recommendations will hopefully result in more attention, resources, and coordination across the federal government being put forward on the impacts of climate change on mental and behavioral health.
For more information, contact Corbin Evans.