The Cinematheque

Vancouver Premiere

Best Mid-Length Documentary

Hot Docs 2025

In his influential 1949 book A Sand County Almanac, conservationist Aldo Leopold first articulated the concept of ecological grief, writing, ​“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” Rejecting such a fate, in Nathan Grossman’s Climate in Therapy seven climate scientists sign up for a group therapy session facilitated by therapist Richard Beck. With humour and astute observation, Beck employs Socratic questioning to unearth complicated feelings as the group discloses their emotional selves. ​“When we try to fight or defend science, we suffer,” says one biologist, enunciating a voice of reason in a divided world where science is seen as conspiracy. Record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events make clear that global warming is no longer an abstract idea. In order to cope with increased existential anxiety and fear, Beck’s therapy session makes clear that human connection is necessary—for climatologists and everyday citizens alike.

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Rashmi Chadha and Dr. Kai Irani.

Moderated by Dr. Paige Zhang, series assistant director and an emergency and consultation-liaison psychiatrist at Vancouver General Hospital.