THE QUESTION

Let's do a group brainstorm over the question: What does a community need (in terms of skills, etc.) to successfully handle the transitions from cheap energy to sustainability, and from predictable weather and migration, etc. to constant change? Don't hold back. Although we will only end up focusing on those to which ecopsychology can contribute, I think it would be helpful if we named them all, so no one thinks we've forgotten about some big aspect.

THE ANSWERS (Compiled and edited for ease of use. Eventually we'll be discussing them: in fact that's part of the next stage.)

1. Decision making (big and small), and what action to take, if any (hold my ground, get space, take momentum, or get out of the way). Identify issues; analyze implications; critically appraise related information; formulate possible explanations, options, solutions; construct a decision, individually and with others.
2. Conversation -> process -> consensus -> buy-in -> Holding the vision (this could include some guidelines about resolving ideological divergence, practical decision-making impasses, and dips in morale when things don't go as planned--contingency and/or change management (Consensus and buy-in to ensure the highest degree of success, cooperation, and happiness. Depending on how we define a particular community, there could be people who, even at the outset, are less invested (or educated) about the intended transition(s). I would want to have conversations in small groups with everyone, including children about what why the change would be beneficial for all involved--even though it might initially *feel* like a great deal of sacrifice. Even those who are seemingly on the same page at beginning of a project can rapidly feel or think they are not only not on the same page but are in different books or even in different mediums as implementation begins.)
3. Leadership: authentic self-leadership-apotropaic leadership: In harmony with one's endeavor to master her/his self-organizing nature, where the word apotropaic (Greek) means "having power to avoid destruction or avert evil influences". (Making a distinction between wholesome leadership and unhealthy leadership. Ecotherapy can bring a very healthy aspect to the teaching of self-leadership and how we relate to nature.)
4. Communication (including in multiple languages).
5. Group process facilitators who can skillfully lead processes for collective deliberation and decision making in a way that allows all voices to be heard, the group shadow to be invited and integrated, and the energy of conflict to be constructively utilized to strengthen the community. (Arnold Mindell's process psychology and 'worldwork' is very effective for these purposes -- see Sitting in the Fire: large group transformation using conflict and diversity. There is also a growing movement in the US that is practicing and developing processes for collective dialogue and deliberation, and for cultivating collective intelligence. Tom Atlee of the Co-Intelligence Institute is an excellent source of information on this movement.)
6. Practitioners/counselors who can help people deal with a traumatic event (probably not that different from death or a divorce) or ongoing reality, grieve the tremendous losses we are all enduring, and provide encouragement, support and inspiration as we empower people to make positive changes in their lives (in the face of dealing with INvoluntary change). And now contribute to the discussion, analysis and treatment of the widespread public mental health issues related to The Long Emergency, (James Howard Kunstler's phrase) -- disaster-related trauma, PTSD, anxiety, avoidance/addictions, burnout, psychic numbing, hypervigilance, stress, etc.
7. Practitioners/counselors expanding into healing methods beyond just talk and bringing the nature-connection into the process (These guiding principles/philosophy for treating any illness or dysfunctional condition are at www.cassmd.com - Dr. Hyla Cass, a UCLA Asst Prof of Psychiatry and integrative MD. 1) Treat the whole person - mind, body, spirit, and environment. 2) Look first for the deepest root problems beneath any symptoms. 3) Apply a continuum of treatments, always beginning with the safest, most natural, and most benign.)
8. Lifestyle therapists: helping people explore their current lifestyle to see if it's impacting their mental and family health negatively and, if so, what positive changes they can make by learning to live more naturally, closer to nature. Contribute to the discussion and treatment of ongoing public mental health issues relating to unnatural industrial lifestyles that are causing so many mental and physical illnesses.
9. Doctors of the soul: those capable of monitoring and healing the psychic and physical imbalances of individuals and the community (including the nonhuman community). I.e., energy healers, complementary medical practitioners, spiritual advisors, shamans, medicine men and women, astrologers, and yes, psychotherapists. There is particular need, I think for facilitators of group processes for dealing with fear and grief.
10. Everyone who aspires or claims to be an ecopsychologist or ecotherapist (on this list or anywhere) become familiar with The Earth Charter, which provides an inspiring, comprehensive vision of ecological, social, and economic sustainability, but is also geared to action. Mutual familiarity with the Earth Charter vision might then give any conversation about ecopsychological action the grounding, direction and structure that would enable the conversation to be inspired and effective. It would also save time. The website for info on The Earth Charter is http://www.earthcharter.org/resources/ where you can download not only the Charter but its (5-year) history and many other documents, including many Power Point presentations.
11. Teach people how to live as if your place in the world mattered (referring to the work of poet David Whyte and the wild ecotherapist Bill Plotkin).
12. Assisting people in 'waking up' to the reality of what's going on: getting out of denial but not succumbing to despair. A delicate process!
13. Enabling enablers: creating contagious social change.
14. Self-directed learning.
15. Education for all ages (life long learning: the bootstrapping of fuzziology: "self generating desire for life long learning")
16. Information gathering -- what are the reliable sources, who can we trust when our lives and livelihoods are on the line? Information for community building.
17. Teachers of everything from all of the above to whole systems thinking and the new cosmology, or new story of the universe, which will replace 'religion' as we've known it. (à la Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow, and the Center for Ecozoic Studies.)
18. Second-order cybernetical (New Science) understandings in the ecopsy realm (chaos, complexity, creativity): Application of New Science. A vague description is it is application of complexity science to ourselves and the world we live in. Complexity sconce brings forth a deeply probing lens for understanding life force dynamics.
19. Compassion and wisdom -- The human race may not survive but Gaia will. Acceptance of this, surrender to this, is necessary if the human race is to survive cataclysmic change.
20. Emotional intelligence and relating this to: inner ecological awareness, cognitive-emotional-spiritual, and our tuning instruments for these experiences Mind-Body-Soul. Being aware of when you are acting out of fear or acting out of love, and understanding the ecology of this. (Emotional and spiritual intelligence).
21. Imagination in action.
22. Community security protectors: those who can skillfully protect the boundaries of the community and bioregion, both physically and diplomatically, from human predators. (Self-defense.)
23. A balance of local and global suppliers.
24. Permaculture: principles as applied to everything... ecological consciousness.
25. Cities/communities designed as LIVING SYSTEMS (fractal morphology: see http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002477.html).
26. The means and ability to produce food locally and simply, under a number of challenging conditions where weather may be bad and energy may be disrupted.
27. Farmers and horticulturists who know how to grow domesticated food sources in a respectful, organic, compassionate (post-industrial) way, and to raise and use animals for other purposes, such as transportation, carrying loads, etc. ('horsepower').
28. Domestic artisans who preserve the knowledge of cooking, spinning, weaving and sewing, making hand tools, food preservation, etc.
29. Creative re-using, fixing, repairing, mending.
30. The means and ability to access and purify water.
31. Health and healing, use of herbs + more, to heal ourselves and each other without 'modern' medicine.
32. Ecologists and herbalists who pay close attention to the messages from the local wild plant, animal and soil communities and know how to nurture and sustainably use them.
33. Full range of medical and mental health services (similar to 6-9 and 31), including but not limited to: multi-culturally informed medical/mental health practices, (even western allopathic medicine). Ability to create or obtain effective treatment regimens for all conditions.
34. Alternative energy technologists (people to put together solar, wind, and other forms of energy sources, as well as to build passive solar buildings and water catchment systems).
35. Integrated transport systems (see fractal morphology above).
36. Holistic institutions, employing the whole person.
37. Cultural sustainers: historians, story tellers, ritualists, archivists, memory keepers.
38. At least one highly committed group with the time and energy to devote several hours a week to planning, educating and implementing such a shift. Coalitions of community groups are fine, but I think one truly committed group can make a good start. This group should coalesce around a shared vision of their task, know a lot about group process, communication and social marketing. They should know or gain knowledge in polling and surveying, fund raising and event planning. Early in the process this group will need to host and hold community meetings to present the need and circumstances related to the local sustainability issues in ways that are interesting and motivational to their residents. There are many resources such a group can draw on: Linda Buzzell's 17 sectors concept is a great resource to begin assessing community's needs. The Post Carbon Institute's Outpost Manual (www.PostCarbon.org) is also a great resource for helping plan the kind of inventories and projects we will need to be doing. Another resource is Earth Action's Manual For the Earth, CAT manual -- http://www.earthcat.org/ and the Community Sustainability Assessment (CSA) by the Global EcoVillage Network - (http://gen.ecovillage.org/activities/csa/English/index.php)
39. A tool (for all of the above) that helps them learn, use and teach a readily available Organic Psychology. The tool enables them to strengthen their ability to achieve the goals of any suggestion by transforming into constructive relationships the hidden bonds and hurt that will otherwise limit their efforts. See http://www.ecopsych.com/attractionlink.html.