HOPEN, a holistic mental health approach developed by ESSRG
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“However we choose to think of the social body, we are each other’s environment.”
Eula Biss
HOPEN presents an innovative, community-based, and body-focused approach to increase well-being and resilience in times of the current meta-crisis. HOPEN is uniquely suited to support individuals and communities working for planetary health and societal transformation. HOPEN views the meta-crisis as a transition, a liminal space, where it is essential to embody curiosity, openness, and to co-create safety within ourselves and our communities.
HOPEN views hope as an open, embodied state—one that invites safety, connection, curiosity and enables creativity and agency.
Why is HOPEN needed?
Environmental professionals: scientists, activists, practitioners and students face the daily reality of ecosystem collapse and its emotional toll. 
Their work (or studies) often brings feelings of loss, fear and helplessness. Research increasingly highlights the importance of supporting their mental well-being, as these individuals are essential to driving the systemic change our world urgently needs. Such transformation requires creativity, resilience, and clear, grounded action. To sustain this, we need people who are emotionally supported and mentally balanced.
Mental health support and caring for emotional and mental integrity in the planetary health communities should not be treated as an add-on, but rather integrated into the core of environmental work and leadership. It must be built into workflows, team cultures, and project planning. After all, planetary health also depends on human well-being—including the well-being of those dedicating their lives to protecting it. With HOPEN, we are committed to offering this care and support, as part of the very community we ourselves belong to.
What is HOPEN?
HOPEN is a holistic mental health approach developed by ESSRG, including different sets of workshops and trainings addressing and supporting community well-being, resilience, hope. 
The program can be fully customised to the needs of each community and can include anything from one-off workshops to longer processes containing several interventions. The workshops provide a safe and creative space to explore participants’ experience on the current poly- and metacrisis and to foster hope and resiliency. While connecting to their inner resources, participants also experience the co-creation of safety. HOPEN methodology is backed up by neuroscience and is built mainly on the Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011) and the principles of somatic coaching.
Various methods complement the process depending on the group’s unique needs. We use sociodrama, role-playing, art-based tools, and facilitate individual and group exercises etc. The HOPEN process supports participants beyond the cognition in gaining deeper awareness of their own resources, resilience, and coping mechanisms and compiling a list of action steps to support their mental well-being in the present and future.
The workshop series contributes to capacity building within the community by enabling emotionally sustainable collaboration, especially among diverse and international teams working under pressure. It empowers sustainability scientists, policy actors, and grassroots practitioners to remain engaged, creative, and effective—traits increasingly recognised as essential for impactful interdisciplinary work. The prior success of the Hope Lab within the Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), conducted as part of the Horizon-funded TRIGGER project, demonstrates this approach’s practical applicability and scalability. These outcomes enhance individual well-being and contribute to stronger, more cohesive research communities capable of navigating complexity and co-producing transformative knowledge.
The HOPEN approach is supported by the beautiful artistry of Emőke Holbis, with whom we have co-designed the HOPEN projective objects and cards.
Our innovative approach
HOPEN is a community mental health programme based on the following methodological pillars:
- NSR – Nervous System Regulation based on the Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011), which helps to create emotional safety and reduce stress.
- Sociodrama – using group dramatic methods to work through shared experiences and hopeful visions of the future.
- Art and experiential approaches – visual arts, body-based exercises, reflective and playful elements support self-awareness and community work.
Who is it for?
- Environmental and social science researchers, educators, and policy makers
- Staff of green NGOs
- Sustainability experts, project teams
- University students, especially in the field of environmental or social studies
- Any organisation that wants to support the mental health and resilience of its members in the face of climate and social crises
We are looking forward to working with you!
For more information and requests reach out to:
Barbara Mihók: mihok.barbara@essrg.hu
Diana Szakál: szakal.diana@essrg.hu
HOPEN development has been financed by TRIGGER (GA. 101057739).
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