Alberta Lawyers' Assistance Society

Knowledge Hub

Lawyer Mental Health Resources

 

Addiction and Substance Dependence

General

Drug Abuse and Addiction. Help Guide.

Is AA For You?  

Lawyers and Addiction

Drug and Alcohol Abuse & Addiction in the Legal Profession - Legal Profession Assistance Conference

Drug Abuse Dependence - American Bar Association

Seven Ways to Help Lawyers with Addiction - The Globe and Mail

Attorneys and Substance Abuse  - The Butler Center for Research at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation 

The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys - Journal of Addiction Medicine

Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addictions - The New England Journal of Medicine

You’re in Recovery and Starting Law School – Now What? - Above the Law

Addiction in the Legal Profession - American Addiction Centre

Stress Leaves Lawyers Prone to Addiction. Kendyl Sebesta. September 3, 2012

Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Legal Profession – Why Lawyers are at Increased Risk for Addiction - Psychology Today

The Most Terrifying Part of My Drug Addiction? That my Law Firm Would Find Out- The Washington Post

Other Addictions

20 Questions - Alberta Gamblers Anonymous

Gambling Addiction in the Legal Profession. - Above the Law

Are You a Workaholic? Time to Take Charge of Your Worklife. - Psychology Today

Workaholic or Working Long Hours—What’s the Difference? - New Zealand Law Society

How Being a Workaholic Differs from Working Long Hours—and Why That Matters for Your Health.- Harvard Business Review


Anxiety

General Information

Generalized Anxiety Disorder - The Mayo Clinic

Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder - The Help Guide

Phobias and Irrational Fears - The Help Guide

Lawyers and Anxiety

Perfection, Self-Doubt and Mental Health in the Legal Profession - The Canadian Lawyer

Anxiety Fact Sheet - LawCare.org.uk

How Lawyers Can Avoid Burnout and Debilitating Anxiety - ABA Journal

Lawyers and Anxiety: Three Case Studies - The Canadian Bar Association

Stress, Anxiety, Substance Abuse? Self-help Tips to Adopt Now - The American Bar Association


Bias

New implicit-bias tool offers insight and answers


Burnout

Burned Out? Nine Ways to Reignite Your Professional Passion  

How to Recognize and Prevent Lawyer Burnout

A Lawyer’s Guide to Dealing with Burnout: Does Burnout Mean I Should Leave My Job or the Law Altogether

I Fought the Law and the Law Won: My Burnout Story

Coping with Stress and Avoiding Burnout: Techniques for Lawyers

Keeping the Fire Burning: Stopping Lawyer Burnout

Compassion Fatigue in the Legal Profession

Keeping Legal Minds Intact: Mitigating Compassion Fatigue among Legal Professionals

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Family Lawyers

How to Avoid “Secondary Trauma: as a Family Law Practitioner

The Impact of Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Family Attorneys Working with Trauma-Exposed Clients: Implications for Practice and Professional Responsibility. Jennifer Brobst. 2014  (sign in to create a free account)


Depression

General

Helping Someone with Depression -HelpGuide

Depression in Women - HelpGuide

Depression in Men - HelpGuide

Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs - HelpGuide

Helping Someone with Depression - HelpGuide

Lawyers and Depression

Managing the Weight of Depression - Law Practice Today

Mental Health’s Toll. Canadian Lawyer 

High-Pressure Law Jobs Linked with Depression. Canadian Lawyer -The Canadian Lawyer

Lawyers and Depression: Three Case Studies - Canadian Bar Association

The Mental Health Crisis in Law - Law and Style

Killing Ourselves: Depression as an Institutional, Workplace and Professionalism Problem - Megan Seto - Western Journal of Legal Studies

Why So Many Lawyers Suffer From So Much Depression. Lawyers with Depression. 

Lawyers Helping Lawyers: How to Start a Depression Support Group in Your Bar Community - Lawyers with Depression

The Depressed Lawyer - Psychology Today


Imposter Syndrome

General

The Imposter Phenomenon

Lawyers

Recognizing the Reality of Imposter Syndrome

Are You a Great Lawyer? Or an Imposter

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome as a Young Lawyer

A Call to Deal with Imposter Syndrome, a Hidden Source of Attorney Distress 

The Imposter Syndrome Prescription

The Imposter Syndrome is Real, but It Can Be Overcome 


Happiness / Satisfaction

What Makes Lawyers Happy? Transcending the Anecdotes with Data from 6200 Lawyers 

Why are Lawyers so Unhappy? 

Why Lawyers are Unhappy

Teaching Lawyers About Happiness

What Do We Know About the Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction of Lawyers? A Meta-Analysis of Research on Lawyer Satisfaction and Well-Being

Lawyers and the Pursuit of Happiness

Lawyers And Their Elusive Pursuit Of Happiness: Does It Matter?


Lawyer Personality

Herding Cats: The Lawyer Personality Revealed 

The Lawyer Personality – How Your Personality Affects Your Practice

A Breed Apart? How Personality Characteristics Influence Who Becomes a Lawyer – And How Far They Rise

The Lawyer’s Paradox: The Link Between Personality and Psychopathology in Lawyers 

What Your Personality Type Says About You as a Lawyer

Finding a Legal Specialty Appealing to the Core of your Personality

Difficult Personality Traits Made Easy: How to Work Well with Others Who Challenge You

Learning and Lawyering Across Personality Types. Ian Weinstein 

Leaving the Law: Find Work and a Life Beyond the Billable Hour


Lawyer Mental Health Issues

General

Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession: An Online Course 

Addressing the Elephant in the Legal Profession: The Lawyers’ Struggle with Mental Health

The Science Behind the Attorney Mental Health Crisis 

The Unspoken Cost of the Unwell Lawyer

Mental Health’s Toll 

Mental Health in the Legal Profession: Are We Asking the Right Questions?

Elevated Incidence of Mental Illness in the Legal Profession 

Capitalizing on Healthy Lawyers: The Business Case for Law Firms to Promote and Prioritize Lawyer Well-Being 

Lawyers: Are We a Profession In Distress? 

Ending the Epidemic of Lawyers’ Depression and Substance Abuse Disorders

Ten Tips for Lawyers Dealing with Stress, Mental Health, and Substance Use Issues

The Mental-Health Crisis in Law 

Escaping from Lawyers’ Prison of Fear

The Status-Health Paradox: Organizational Context, Stress Exposure, and Well-Being in the Legal Profession

Practicing Law and Wellness: Modern Strategies for the Lawyer Dealing with Anxiety, Addiction, And Depression

Lawyering Stress and Work Culture: An Australian Study

The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys

Why We Need to Talk About Lawyers’ Mental Health Now

The Future of the Legal Profession

Epidemic in the Legal Profession (Part 1 and 2)

Loneliness

Lawyer Loneliness: Facing and fighting 'No. 1 Public Health Issue

Lawyers Rank Highest on ‘Loneliness Scale,’ Study Finds

Lonely Lawyers: Feeling Isolated + Identifying Support


Over-functioning

Over-functioning


Perfectionism

The Enemy of The Good: Perfectionism, Self-Doubt And Mental Health In The Legal Profession

Self-Compassion Counterbalances Maladaptive Perfectionism. Christopher Bergland 

‘Big Law Killed my Husband’: An Open Letter from a Sidley Partner’s Widow

The American Lawyer The Trillion Dollar Taboo: Why Its Time to Stop Ignoring Mental Health at Work 

We Can All Identify with Gabe MacConaill


Shame & Stigma 

Confronting the Mental Health Stigma in the Legal Profession - Lexpert

Stigma: Depression in the Legal Profession - Ontario Bar Association

Reducing the Stigma: The Deadly Effect of Untreated Mental Illness and New Strategies for Changing Outcomes in Law Students - William Mitchell Law Review

There is No More Shame in Mental Illness Than Having Tonsillitis -The Guardian

Mental Illness and Lawyers: Moving from Stigma to Solutions - Practice Pro

 

I confess, I was Ashamed of Living with Mental Illness - Arthur Gallant - HuffPost

Transcending Shame: One Lawyer’s Journey - Psychology Today


Stress

General

Stress. CAMH.

Canadian Employees Report Workplace Stress as Primary Cause of Mental Health Concerns 

Researchers Find Out Why Some Stress is Good for You 

Stress: Definition and History

Stress and Burnout: Know Your Limits

Lawyers

The Day-to-day Stresses and Challenges of Being a Lawyer

Mental Health’s Toll

Big Law Leaders Say Stress is Main Cause of Addiction and Mental Health Problems

 

Trauma

A Mental Health Primer for Lawyers and Law Students