Development and Initial Validation of the Climate Change Counseling Scale

This study aimed to develop a scale to assess counselors' ability to provide counseling to address the mental health impacts of climate change. Over three studies, we provide reliability and validity evidence for a Climate Change Counseling Scale (3CS) in a large representative sample of counselors across the US. In study one and two, an overinclusive item pool was developed using a theoretical framework and were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. In study three, confirmatory factor analytic models and corollary analysis were utilized to establish construct validity and convergent validity, respectively. Two factors with seven items each were supported across studies. The first factor represented Climate Change Knowledge. The second factor represented skills and abilities consistent with Climate Informed Counseling. Reliability and validity were acceptable by standard convention in all three studies. The 3CS represents the first measure to assess counseling skills to mitigate mental health impacts of climate change.