By Danny Bloom
CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — From letters-to-the-editor at Time magazine to the public shows he performs with his wife Rusti, psychiatrist Steven Moffic believes that personal actions are important in the global fight against climate change. But readers might wonder what exactly does climate change have to do with psychiatry? Is it all in everyone’s head?
Dr Moffic strongly believes that modern psychiatric practice and climate change issues today have a strong connection, and he is using his expertise and his performance skills to bring his message to a wider audience nationwide.
When asked about psychological factors that might propel people to finally recognize global warming as real, Moffic, who is the father of a rabbi in the Midwest. said that behavioral change by individuals — encouraged by what’s considered acceptable, not just by law — can bring change on a massive scale.
“I’m an optimist,” he said, noting that the challenge is stitching all these things together to make hope possible.
Dr Moffictold this reporter that the Biblical character of Joseph is one of his favorite characters. When I asked why, he explained it in a novel way.
“Because in part Joseph foreshadows the first psychiatrists,” he said. “Freud developed most of his early theories by interpreting his own dreams. Joseph’s whole life was based on his interpreting his dreams, which seem to me to be both conflictual (like Freud) and prophetic. In prison, he became very self-reflective. Then, he became able to interpret the dreams of others, including the Pharoah, relieving their psychological distress.”
“As a bonus for me, he is able to foresee (with God’s help?), the climate change to come in his time, and prepare adequately for it,” Moffic added. “Finally, he helps his brothers to their necessary insight into their history with him, and teaches foregiveness (necessary often in the treatment of PTSD). This resolution is the end of the destructive sibling conflicts in the Torah.”
For the Moffics in Milwaukee, fighting climate change and global warming has always been a family issue, and the Jewish couple will be making a presentation on global warming as part of a Presidential Symposium at the annual American Psychiatric Association meeting in San Francisco. Needless to say, Steve and Rusti are psyched.
“Our presentation in San Francisco will focus on how to get more people knowledgeable about the psychological obstacles for ‘going green’,” Moffic told the San Diego Jewish World. “The organizer is a professor at our local university.” A focus will be on potential technology changes, and “most of the attendees will be people who work in industry related to potential sustainability.”
The American Psychiatric Association’s convention in May is the major annual national meeting for all psychiatrists in North America, according to Moffic.
“For this one, we were asked to do something about my earlier attempts to get psychiatrists more interested in climate change and global warming,” Moffic said.
“In the past, we’ve presented to groups ranging from pharmacists to synagogues. We are always looking for opportunities to present to different groups of people on this subject. We also use our personal individual strengths and what we can combine as a couple. I’m best at conceiving creative ways to present controversial information, which I’ve done for 40 years in psychiatry. My wife is a charismatic songstress. So we will try to set up the presentation in San Francisco to provide information in a non-threatening, fun, and enjoyable way.”
The Moffics formed Ye Merrye Eco Players a few years ago to present short public performances titled “Going Green in Pscyh and Song!”
“It’s really a multimedia presentation, Moffic, a professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin, told me. “We discuss the under-appreciated psychological aspects of global warming, and we try to do it with humor and serious science combined.”
Moffic believes that personal actions are important in the global fight against climate change.
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Bloom is Taiwan bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World and an inveterate web surfer. He may be contacted at dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com