2. Embracing Our Vulnerability : in which I for the first time explain my view about how our attitudes towards and acceptance of our vulnerability needs to change.
3. Sharing Our Personal Experiences (Or Not): in which I discuss the reasons why some people might be able to share and some may not, and explain my view that no one should feel obliged to share but we should strive to create the conditions to make it as safe and comfortable as possible for those who may wish or need to do so.
4. How Can We Support Each Other (A Question, Not An Answer): in which I brainstorm ways in which we might be able to try to support each other re trauma and mental health issues.
5. Toughness And The Legal Profession: in which I describe my perception of the pervasive attitude in the profession that lawyers are and need to be "tough" and the damage it can do/what we sacrifice when we approach our role this way.
6. Professionally Mandated Healing (Avoiding Discrimination and Health-Shaming): in which I commend the efforts to encourage people to get help, but caution that we need to do so in a way that doesn't discriminate against those who have health conditions or suggest that they can't be excellent lawyers. I discuss how we might go about encouraging people to get help without shame and discrimination, and issue a reminder that lawyers with health conditions (physical, mental or both, including chronic conditions that they can't simply go away and fix) have a great deal to contribute.
7. Strategy to Reduce Stigma For Lawyers' Mental Health Issues (Without Needlessly Exacerbating Other Types of Stigma):in which I discuss how efforts to de-stigmatize one mental health condition can sometimes stray into invoking language that draws on and aggravates the stigma attaching to another mental health condition. I suggest that we need to try to use discourse that is transformative rather than helping people feel better solely by assuring them that they aren't as bad as some other group they might fear belonging to.
8. Doubts and Fears: "Can I Really Make A Difference?" : in which I reflect on the efforts I've made in speaking out to that point and describe some of my fears about whether I'm really helping...
9. In Defence of Trigger Warnings: in which I write about a recent study suggesting trigger warnings for traumatic content in universities cause more harm than good, and reflect in my own non-expert way about why I feel the study might be missing the point.
10. To Those Who May Be Struggling...: in which I directly address those who may be struggling from the effects of trauma, and offer my message of support.
11. Encouraging People To Seek Help Vs. Ensuring Proper Supports Are Actually In Place: in which I discuss the caution I feel we should take in encouraging people to seek help. While we want to give them hope, I feel we need to be careful because sometimes the supports that should be there aren't. I don't say that we shouldn't still encourage people to seek help, but I do say we need to be mindful of the possible barriers they may face in doing so....Unrealistically optimistic encouragement can cause more harm than good.
12. Avoiding A Skewed Narrative: Finding Ways To Learn From Those Who Can't Speak: in which I explain how we need to be careful in not assuming that the stories we hear about mental health are an accurate reflection of what people are experiencing. It can be easier to share and hear the positive stories (with an outcome that's more palatable to those with the power to amplify those voices). If we want an accurate understanding of the nature of the challenges people are facing, we need to take care to hear all stories, both with positive and "negative" outcomes.
13. My Vision for Our Legal Culture (Re Mental Health and Trauma): After so many posts that are a bit critical of how our profession handles these issues, I write a post that looks to my own vision of what our culture might look like if we handled these issues better (note: it was meant as a more positive post but there's plenty of criticism of the status quo--apparently, I can't help it).
14. Allowing for Complexity and Nuance When Discussing Trauma and Mental Health: in which I discuss the care we need to take in not assuming that outcomes of those who have experienced trauma will always be the same: not everyone will end up with a tragic outcome; and even those who suffer effects won't necessarily do so in an obvious or visible way. We need to recognize the common and obvious ways in which trauma can manifest itself, without erasing the experiences of others who have less visible/"obvious" outcomes.
***Incomplete: will add later entries at a subsequent date**
As always, please note that I am a lawyer, not a mental health
professional of any kind. I have no expertise in trauma or mental
health. Also, please note that any opinions and views expressed in this
blog are solely my own and are not intended to represent the views or
opinions of my employer in any way. For more information about the
purpose of this blog, please see here and for a bit more information about my personal perspective on this issue, please see "my story" here
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