Chris Williamson trained as a counsellor at Otago University through the Masters of Education (Counselling).  He has worked as a counsellor in Dunedin for 15 years. Chris is currently the Associate Head of School for the School of Social Services at Otago Polytechnic.
In this conversation we talk about the role of the sustainable practitioner in social services – counselling in particular being rooted in rooted in notions of social justice. Chris describes how the principles of counselling can be applied and extended in the arena of sustainability. He talks about maintaining practice, mindfulness, and a overwhelming belief that you can make a positive change.  We explore different models including motivational interviewing and solution focusssed therapy with a view to identifying approaches for sustainable behaviour change.
Shane’s number of the week: 350.
350 is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide (in parts per million) in the atmosphere. As we’re already at 386ppm, then 350 is a target humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.
Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Over the last few days I’ve been exploring how we might promote “not-buying stuffâ€. I thought I had hit on it with a big green button for “impulse sustainabilityâ€, but then undid myself with the realisation that we don’t really know what such a button would do – or even if it could (read more>>).