“A student’s journey through law school, articling, and the bar admission course is very stressful, and then the new lawyer enters the very stressful legal profession. Everyone needs to work on their mental health, particularly lawyers.” These are the words of Anne-Marie Hourigan, Law’84, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). With mental health more crucial than ever amid COVID-19, among her roles is to increase awareness of the issue and to connect the MHCC with people who could benefit from its numerous programs and resources.
Leading MHCC’s initiatives is Ed Mantler, VP of Programs & Priorities, who has evidence on why it’s important for legal professionals and law students to do things that will improve their mental health. “Certain professionals – lawyers, physicians, and first responders – have a much higher likelihood of being among the half-million people across the country off work every week because of a mental health problem or illness,” he says. “Part of the reason is due to the very nature of their work; it’s very trauma-centric. Lawyers are hearing and talking about trauma or protecting clients from trauma every day. There’s a direct link between exposure to trauma – whether it’s your own or someone else’s – and mental health consequences down the road.”
People in those professions, he adds, “tend to be the most reticent to say, ‘I’m having difficulty and I need to reach out for help.’ They lose the opportunity for early intervention, when simply talking to someone or doing some cognitive behavioral exercises might resolve the issue. Instead, it’s pushed under the carpet and allowed to progress to where it becomes more problematic.”
Using an analogy of cutting a finger at work, Mantler explains: “I wouldn’t hesitate to go to the first aid kit and put a band-aid on it right away. If it became infected, I wouldn’t hide it and remain silent until my arm was gangrenous and had to be removed. But when I’m having a psychological problem and am worried what people will think of me, if they’ll ever trust me again, and if it will cost me my job, I’m keeping that problem hidden until I won’t be able to cope and may be off work for a long time.
“The frightening statistic,” he continues, “is about three-quarters of adults who have a mental health diagnosis will say that they’ve been having those symptoms since their late teens or early 20s. Many people suffer in silence for 30 years before seeking their first help for depression, which by then is ingrained.”
“Everyone needs to work on their mental health, lawyers in particular,” adds Hourigan. “They’re not exempt from the statistics. We’ve all heard that one in five Canadians has a mental health condition or problem. At the Commission, we say it’s ‘five in five’ because when one person has a mental health problem or condition, the other four people around that person are affected, whether they’re colleagues, employers, family members, friends, and/or coaches.”
COVID-19 magnifies mental health issues
Daily life was stressful enough for many people, then along came the global pandemic almost a year ago. The MHCC has a measure of COVID’s effect on mental health from its work with partner organizations. The percentage of people in Canada reporting their mental health and well-being as being very good, strong, or excellent fell from almost 70 per cent in 2019 to about 40 per cent late in fall 2020.
“Lawyers work in a highly pressurized environment, often in a very adversarial situation, and are three times more likely than other professionals to suffer from depression,” says Hourigan. “During COVID when people are working from home, doing a trial or a tribunal hearing from their living room on their laptop, and then having to deal with their kids and make dinner, there is no time to decompress and get rid of the stress.”
Mantler points to the growing number of lawyers in leadership roles becoming champions in sharing stories about their own experiences with mental health issues. “That inspires others to open up and reach out for help as well,” he says. “If there’s a silver lining to COVID, it’s that mental health and mental health problems are part of the everyday conversation like never before. Suddenly it’s okay to talk about your anxiety and your depression because we’re all facing these same stressors, and everyone can relate to why you feel anxious or depressed. This is a golden age of being able to come out and seek help and there are a variety of virtual options available.”
Resources for individuals and organizations
One of the MHCC’s primary offerings is The Working Mind (TWM), an evidence-based training program that an organization’s employees can use to help themselves. “It’s about monitoring my own mental health using a continuum to see how I’m reacting to the stresses of my workday and the factors within my workplace,” explains Mantler. “It allows me to monitor when my reaction is going beyond the normal or is sustaining itself in a way that’s no longer healthy, and then gives me some very simple but effective self-help tools to be able to help drive myself back to a state of wellness or gives me the information that I need to seek more professional help when
that’s necessary.” An organization’s supervisors and managers can also use TWM to know what to do if they have employees who need support, accommodation, or help with their mental health problems or issues.
Typically, an organization like a law society or a firm organizes in-person classes, which are now delivered via Zoom. While the science behind TWM is consistent across all types of workplaces, Mantler says they do tailor the stories, imagery, examples, and case studies used to the profession. There is a registration fee for each person participating and it includes many resources on psychological health and safety in workplaces.
Among the organizations working with the MHCC to tailor programs for employees are a Bay Street law firm and a provincial Solicitor General’s office.
The foundation of evidence that formed TWM has recently been tailored to post-secondary education students in a new program, The Inquiring Mind. Last fall, the National Standard on the Mental Health and Wellness of Post-Secondary Students was released.
In another resource, Health Canada’s Wellness Together Canada app, anyone can do a self-check by answering a few questions confidentially in a diagnostic screening tool. Links to appropriate services or information are then provided on the user’s phone.
Moving towards a healthier future
“Mental health is health period and everyone across all realms and all professions has an obligation to take care of it,” states Hourigan. “Given my experience, having worked in the criminal justice system for 30 years, there is a great need to work on our own mental health as legal professionals and also to ensure the mental health of our colleagues in the courthouses, in the law firms, and in the law schools.”
There are advancements in terms of reducing stigma and seeking help for mental health problems or conditions in Canada. “Bell Let’s Talk is a big proponent of getting rid of the stigma and having everyone join the conversation on mental health awareness, but at the same time, in the legal and certain other professions, it’s closed shop,” explains Hourigan. “The good news is that there’s movement. Firms and legal bodies are working on mental wellness for their employees and their partners. The other good sign is we’re seeing a generational shift. Younger lawyers and law students have mental health on their radar screen, so when they’re applying for articling jobs, they’ll look at the mental wellness program of firms. I see hope on the horizon: help is there, the need is there, and it’s just a matter of having everyone join the conversation.
“Now is a time for education and awareness,” she continues. “We’re trying our best through the MHCC’s resource hub and programs to serve Canadians and say, ‘we’ve got the resources, come join us and become more aware of your mental health and the mental health of your colleagues.’”