Therapist  &  Lawyer
A Dual Lens

Philosophy

In my work with lawyers I recognized that lawyers are unforgiving to themselves and that they sometimes lack perspective about challenges they face and the challenges facing others. Often by simply adding to their knowledge base, providing insight, and gaining perspective, they can move forward. Some issues require additional focus.

Having spent several meaningful years working directly with lawyers in crisis it has been my experience that lawyers are immediately at ease when working with a lawyer counsellor who knows the legal culture. They know that to some extent I understand how they are wired and that we each share a similar outlook and perspective.

I can help lawyers facing challenges and obstacles by providing a safe environment in which to share their concerns. By providing perspective to legal professionals about their current problems and helping them become more aware of many of the circumstances surrounding their problems and issues from their past they can gain crucial insight and a degree of emotional intelligence. Fears of failure and perfectionism often lead to an imbalance in living which negatively impact overall health. I can help identify problem patterns and negative automatic thoughts that lead to anxiety and depression and substance abuse. I can identify strengths and guide legal professionals if necessary to intensive treatment programs. I can help underscore the need for professionals to adopt healthy practices (a nutritious diet, exercise, mindfulness) and coping skills to promote health and wellness. I can help lawyers unearth their true values and embrace an authentic and realistic definition of success and generally help the professional move forward. Sessions will vary in length depending on the matters at issue and the modality employed. Some professionals are helped in one to three visits. Others may require more sessions.

Short-term counselling may employ brief and solution focused techniques and motivational interviewing. Longer term counselling may employ cognitive behavioural and/or mindfulness theory. Narrative and family therapy approaches may also be employed.

Recurring Themes for Lawyers

Stress

The practice of law can be stressful. Long hours, deadlines, demanding clients, a competitive industry and pressure to build a book of business make it so. Perfectionist lawyers tend to see things in terms of wins or losses, successes or failures. They have high expectations and tend to be driven. Our fast changing world with evolving technological advances heightens expectations of lawyers which make the pressures of balancing one's professional life, personal life and family life very difficult. Lawyers feel the pressure to keep up with technological advances and the changing state of the industry. Some lawyers find this more difficult given their year of call.

In some cases, some lawyers feel added stress if they believe that they have not achieved the level of success they had envisioned for themselves or are not as successful as their former classmates.

Isolation of the Sole Practitioner

Many sole practitioners find the practice of law to be lonely and isolating, without the presence of, or even the benefit of the energy of, other lawyers nearby. Some sole practitioners have a general practice to encourage a flow of clients so that financial obligations can be met. A general practice can be more stressful than specialization due to the pressures of staying current in many areas of law.

Lawyers in firms of various sizes can also feel isolated as lawyers hive themselves off from others to focus on their work.

Anxiety, Depression and Substance Abuse

Some lawyers define success in terms of money and power. Falling short of one's expectation can lead to unhappiness, anxiety, depression and problem behaviours. It is now known that within the legal profession there is a higher incidence of depression and substance abuse than in the general population. The isolation lawyers and judges experience, the demands of the profession and the fact that lawyers are trained to think in the alternative and to anticipate problems can also be contributing factors. Lawyers may think they should be problem free as they are in the business of helping others. In the course of serving others some neglect themselves and put off seeking help or self-medicate to cope.

Career Issues

Inability to get a job, downsizing, and transition issues create challenges for lawyers and may cause them to seek assistance to process their circumstances and to set new goals.

Challenges also occur if lawyers apply a "one size fits all" definition of success rather than creating an individualized definition based on one's authentic self.

In the legal profession where "fitting in" is important, some lawyers resist exposing their authentic self which can impact one's emotional well-being.

Self-Esteem

Despite numerous academic and other accomplishments some lawyers struggle with low self-esteem. This is often due to interactions with family or others at a young age and can be instigated by cultural messaging as well. This can impact a lawyer's career if one deep down does not feel worthy of the outward success one has achieved. More often it affects goal setting and performance.

Work Place Harassment

This can be sexual in nature or a form of bullying or a pressure imposed to conform to the firm's culture. Lawyers can benefit from talking through the facts with a therapist who understands the legal culture and the pressures on the lawyer.

Trauma

Lawyers may have been subjected to trauma in their past and/or arising from their family of origin. This can affect the lawyer's ability to function well professionally.

Strain of Legal Career on a Marriage and Family

As lawyers work long hours, even longer today given the evolution in technology, this can negatively impact a lawyer's marriage and family life and can lead to divorce. Even where the lawyer has a very supportive spouse who allows the lawyer to focus almost exclusively on their legal career, marriage breakdown can occur due to the economic imbalance in the marriage.

Some lawyers choose not to marry and have children or to marry and not have children due to the demands of their career and then later regret the choices they made.

Lawyers Leaving Practice

Some lawyers choose not to practice which may seem paradoxical after all the years of hard work. There are a variety of factors which may influence this decision. Generally, it has been found that excessive demands put on lawyers by the profession with little flexibility in their schedule can impact one's physical and mental health, their relationships and time with family. Women are leaving at a higher rate than the men.

This issue is an overall concern to the legal industry. Findings of research shared at the recent Law Society of Upper Canada's Justicia Symposium 2014, flowing from the Justicia Project implemented to promote and support the retention and advancement of women in private practice, underscore that there is still a lack of diversity in the profession. The perception that a level playing field does not exist in law is a source of frustration for affected lawyers who have been trained to seek fairness and justice for themselves and their clients. Some lawyers leave as a result given the lack of mentorship, sponsorship and perceived partnership opportunities for women.

Some lawyers perceive themselves as failures for not being able to make law work for them when overall systematic change is required.