An online four-course program launched by the Loka Initiative last year, is also the center of a study by Center for Healthy Minds (CHM) researchers about navigating climate change distress.

The study, led by CHM Research Assistant Professor Dr. Christy Wilson-Mendenhall, seeks to understand the distressing impacts of the environmental-and-climate crisis and peoples’ ability to build inner resilience, interconnected with community and ecological resilience, through completing the “Psychology of Deep Resilience” (PDR) course program.

PDR has three co-instructors at University of Wisconsin–Madison: Loka Initiative Director Dekila Chungyalpa, CHM Founder and Director Dr. Richard J. Davidson, and Dean of the Nelson School for Environmental Studies Dr. Paul Robbins.

Participants can opt-in to the study at the beginning of the four-course program, which focuses on understanding how we can all nurture deep resilience related to the distress we feel related to the climate crisis – both as individuals and collectively.

One example of an optional study measure for learners, is reporting on emotions before and after contemplative practices throughout the four-course program.

“Preliminary program evaluation suggests that people often feel anxious, afraid, sad and overwhelmed,” Wilson-Mendenall says. “We are learning that contemplative practices may help decrease the intensity of such emotions and cultivate feelings of calm, connection and, at times, joy.”

Over 1,250 people have signed up for the asynchronous four-course program, and around 130 people are currently taking part in the associated study. The course is offered through edX in partnership with UW–Madison Continuing Studies, and has an option to enroll for free.

By having a deeper understanding of people’s experience, researchers are set to improve the course and build other offerings. This first iteration of PDR is available – with both a free and certificate option – through June 2025.