Panel works to end the stigma of seeking help
Panel works to end the stigma of seeking help
‘You’re not protecting the public by hurting those who have had treatment’
Senior Editor
A 24/7 hotline for Bar members and a way to remove any stigma from lawyers, judges, and law students seeking mental health services were among the many topics discussed by the Bar’s Special Committee on Mental Health and Wellness of Florida Lawyers.
The committee discussed the efficacy of beefing up existing hotline services offered by Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., and heard Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson offer to conduct a CLE course on the subject. The committee, which met at the Bar’s recent Winter Meeting in Orlando, also talked about additional CLE courses and adding a “wellness page” to the Bar’s website.
Much of the discussion focused on the reluctance at all levels of the profession — law students, lawyers, and judges — to either seek out counseling or admit that counseling has been used.
“We need to get to a place where lawyers can walk into an office and say, ‘Oh by the way, on Wednesdays from 3 to 5, I’ll be out of the office because that’s when my therapy is,’”
said committee Chair Dori Foster-Morales.
“We’re talking about a lot of different things. Are they depressed, are they anxious, are they unhappy? Whatever they are, they want to be better, they want to be happier, they want to be not so anxious. The question is how do you treat that?”
The committee looked at establishing a 24/7 crisis hotline for lawyers to call when they are overwhelmed. Committee members said a logical way to do that would be to expand the Florida Lawyer Assistance, Inc., toll-free number, but they also wanted to examine an alternative — hiring a special service, like an employee assistance program, to operate a separate crisis line.
The committee heard that the State Bar of Georgia has such a hotline, and the service includes six free counseling sessions, and a few other states have hotlines. Committee members said the Bar should send out requests for information and requests for quotes to see how much such a service would cost in Florida.
Dr. Rahul Mehra, a committee member who also provides hotline services, said lawyers, law students, and judges need a place to turn, and it’s getting harder to find those mental health resources in traditional health insurance policies. Frequently just having someone listen to and acknowledge a problem goes a long way, he said.
“The need for these services is increasing exponentially, but the provider network is decreasing,” Mehra said. “The insurance companies don’t want to pay the providers.”
Such services are needed, according to committee member Carl Schwait, who posed this question: “When you’re a lawyer and you’re going under, who do you share with? You don’t share with a partner. Who do you call?”
The committee’s wide-ranging discussion touched on problems from law school to the bench. Committee member Joe Ankus said he agonized over whether to put on his bar application that he had been treated by a psychiatrist, fearing it would lengthen his character and fitness review. Eventually he decided to include the information, and there were no repercussions.
But Ankus said he’s heard of other cases where students were delayed, or where they left off that information and then encountered problems because of their failure to disclose the treatment.
“You want to encourage disclosure and not be punished for it,” he said.
Bar President Michael Higer, who attended much of the meeting, said he’s getting lots of feedback about that bar application issue, and Foster-Morales said its part of the high stress law students face between their studies, high debt, and concerns about finding work.
“Studies show people go to law school healthy and they come out unhealthy,” she said. “Then they really need help and we can’t stigmatize it. They have more loans than they’ve ever had, they’re worried about this. We don’t want to get help because of this [application] issue.. . . We can try to start that conversation.”
Lawson, who like Higer attended much of the meeting and actively participated in the discussion, said the Bar must engage in a continuing effort to provide help for lawyers and lift any perceived taint on those to seek and use that help.
“Our first duty is to protect the public,” he said. “You’re not protecting the public by hurting those who have had treatment.”
Lawson also offered to lead a CLE at the June Annual Convention as long as it provided valuable information and gave lawyers something they could “take away” and use.
“If we’re going to do more to tackle this issue, we can’t do it with an occasional seminar. We need a system that encourages ongoing personal growth — which requires regularly evaluating one’s life and making the changes needed to create a more fulfilled life,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal profession and we have such an opportunity to do good, but we lose sight of that. It takes a regular input of focus on the kind of issue that you’re talking about.”
Aside from seeking information about helplines, the committee:
• Heard it will be conducting a Presidential Showcase CLE at the Annual Convention and worked on plans for that. It also has several other CLE programs in the works.
• Heard Foster-Morales report that the Bar’s Member Benefits Program is looking to add health and wellness products, including FitBit and eHome Counseling, a therapy service.
• Received a report on adding a wellness page to the Bar’s website.
