123: Mental Health in Law School and the Legal Profession (with Sarah Weinstein)

Welcome back! Today, we are talking about a very serious and important topic: mental health in the legal profession. The staggering statistics and heartbreaking stories of depression, substance abuse, and even suicide in law schools and in our legal profession have raised our concerns and the concerns of others. Because of this, we have reached out to attorney-turned-executive consultant and licensed psychotherapist, Sarah Weinstein, to talk about this topic.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The sobering statistics on depression and substance abuse among law students and lawyers
• Is there something inherent to law school and the legal profession that leads to such mental health concerns?
• Effects of competition, debt, and a down job market on law students
• Effects of stress, conflict, and high-stakes matters on lawyers
• Signs that you or someone you know might need to seek professional help
• What can be done to change this mental health climate?

Resources:

• sarahweinsteintherapy.com (http://www.sarahweinsteintherapy.com/)
• Lawyers & Depression (Dave Nee Foundation) (http://www.daveneefoundation.org/scholarship/lawyers-and-depression/)
• WellnessCast (https://law.stanford.edu/directory/joseph-bankman/wellness-project/#slsnav-the-wellnesscast)
• Warrior One (https://warriorone.com/)
• Above the Law, “Did Law School Bullying Contribute to a Recent Graduate’s Suicide?” (https://abovethelaw.com/2017/09/law-school-bullying-leads-to-recent-graduates-suicide/)
• Above the Law, “Bar Exam Suicides Are Disturbingly Common Among Recent Law School Graduates.” (https://abovethelaw.com/2016/12/bar-exam-suicides-are-disturbingly-common-among-recent-law-school-graduates/)
• New York Times, “The Lawyer, the Addict: A high-powered Silicon Valley attorney dies. His ex-wife investigates, and finds a web of drug abuse in his profession.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/business/lawyers-addiction-mental-health.html?_r=0)
• Business Insider, “We Need to Start Talking to Law Students About Depression and Suicide.” (http://www.businessinsider.com/we-need-to-start-talking-to-law-students-about-depression-and-suicide-2014-4)

Episode Transcript: Download the Transcript  (https://lawschooltoolbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Episode-123-Mental-Health-and-the-Legal-Profession.pdf)

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Thanks for listening!

Alison & Lee