Working from the Inside Out: Paths to Personal and Global Transformation with Renée Lertzman

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May 21, 2025

Renée Lertzman, a researcher and advisor, focuses on translating relational psychology to combat the planetary crisis. She discusses why conventional shaming tactics fail and emphasizes the need for emotional literacy in creating meaningful change. Renée explores how personal trauma influences environmental perceptions, the importance of safe spaces for transformation, and innovative messaging in climate engagement. She advocates for collective action and well-grounded resources to empower individuals and communities for effective environmental initiatives.

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ANECDOTE

Psychology Meets Environment

Renée Lertzman shares how her background in psychology and environmental studies merged, changing her life trajectory.
She highlights how human psychology and environmental crisis are fundamentally intertwined and inseparable.

INSIGHT

Emotions Impair Cognition

Negative feelings like fear and anxiety impair clear thinking and decision-making.
Understanding this is crucial for designing effective climate engagement strategies.

ADVICE

Create Safe Containers

Create safe relational "containers" where people feel held and secure when facing difficult truths.
Setting these social agreements fosters psychological safety and supports engagement.

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We've known for decades that the 'Yell, Tell and Sell' strategy of belittling people, endeavouring to cajole—or shame—them into some kind of change doesn't work - in fact it can't work. It's not how we're wired. Cognitive neuroscience has been telling us this for decades but it's only recently that people have begun to listen. One of those who has been speaking in the wilderness for a long time—and is now finally being heard—is this week's guest, Renée Lertzman.

Dr. Renée Lertzman is a researcher, advisor and strategist who translates relational psychology to change our approach to our planetary crisis. Applying her graduate training as a psychosocial researcher, she designs frameworks and methods, grounded in public health, clinical psychology and neurosciences, that guide people to take action and create impact on climate and sustainability issues.

Over the past two decades, Renée has worked with global leaders, startups, governments, and mission-driven companies—including Google, IKEA, the California Academy of Sciences, and WWF—helping them navigate the emotional complexities of climate engagement. She’s also the founder of Project InsideOut, an initiative that equips changemakers with psychologically grounded resources for collective transformation.

This is the key to our survival. We need to learn how to engage ourselves and each other in ways that will transform ourselves and each other. We need to bring serious emotional literacy to the table so that we can create the containers, and attune to the anxieties and aspirations of people around us. We need, above all, to equip people to make sustained and sustainable change. This is the core of Renée's work and hearing her talk about it in depth is the first step to making it happen. Enjoy!

Learn more at reneelertzman.com and projectinsideout.net.
Renée on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneelertzman/
Renée's TED talk https://www.ted.com/talks/renee_lertzman_how_to_turn_climate_anxiety_into_action