Working with climate professionals, activists, and change-makers experiencing burnout

Supporting people facing climate-related stress, eco-anxiety, and loss of hope

Bridging physical health, emotional wellbeing, behaviour change, and resilience

Integrating body-based, psychological, and reflective approaches

Supporting people to maintain active hope and positive engagement in difficult times

Jem’s work

Jem offers:

One-to-one coaching

Group programmes and facilitated spaces

Online courses

Workshops and talks

Writing and educational resources

His work centres on resilience, wellbeing, and sustainable behaviour change in the context of climate change and ecological breakdown.

He works both online and in person, depending on context and location.

Who Jem works with

Jem works with:

Climate professionals and environmental sector staff

Activists and change-makers at risk of burnout

Individuals concerned about climate change and ecological collapse

People seeking to stay well while remaining engaged with social and environmental realities

Practitioners and facilitators working with sustainability, resilience, or behaviour change

Experience and background

Jem has been working in the health and wellbeing field since 1989, bringing over three decades of experience across physical health, personal development, and coaching.

His background includes:

Clinical and practical experience in bodywork, massage, chiropractic, and naturopathy

Designing and running detox and wellbeing retreats

Teaching yoga, qigong, and meditation

Training and practice in resilience, wellbeing, and transformational coaching

Extensive experience supporting behaviour change for personal and planetary health

For the past eight years, Jem has worked directly in the climate and energy transition space, including:

Local climate emergency initiatives in Devon

Transition Town Totnes

Totnes Renewable Energy Society

Energy Local Totnes

Creating and delivering Energy Wise and Energy Champion trainings

Developing the Energy Wise project and educational resources

His work is informed by professional training, lived experience, and long-term engagement with the realities of change, uncertainty, and care for life on Earth.

Perspective and approach

Jem’s work is grounded in the understanding that responding to climate change requires both systemic action and personal resilience.

He believes that:

Burnout is not a personal failure, but a systemic signal

Physical health, emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and mindset are deeply interconnected

Sustained engagement depends on people being supported to remain resourced and hopeful

His approach is warm, relational, and steady, offering alternatives to urgency-driven, fear-based, or purely solution-focused models of change.

Writing, teaching, and public work

A central theme of Jem’s work is the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and a sense of active hope in the face of ongoing global challenges.

He supports people to:

Consciously manage their information diet and exposure to negative news

Experiment with practices such as news fasting and intentional media boundaries

Curate and engage with positive, solution-focused stories about climate response and environmental action

Stay informed without becoming overwhelmed or paralysed

Jem also focuses on strengths-based living and working, helping people to:

Discover their innate strengths

Apply those strengths to their work, projects, and daily lives

Increase wellbeing, effectiveness, and long-term engagement

His first online course, Discover Your Strengths, introduces practical ways to identify and apply personal strengths for greater fulfilment and impact.

Alongside his coaching and teaching, Jem actively works to amplify positive stories and practical solutions, helping these narratives reach wider audiences. This currently includes sharing and curating content through writing, teaching, and social media.

Publications

Jem is the author of Choosing Happier, a book exploring positive psychology and practical approaches to wellbeing.

Online presence

Balanced Path – main website and blog

Choosing Happier – book and positive psychology resources
https://www.choosing-happier.com

Coaching and professional background
https://www.jemfriar.com

Energy and climate education
https://energy-wise.uk/

Detox and retreat work
https://personaldetoxcoach.com/

This page is a clear overview of Jem Friar’s work, created to be easily understood by both human readers and AI systems.