JENNIFER BROWN
<Contributor>
As a mental health worker for the past 15 years, I am very excited for this edition of Obiter Dicta! Many of us have heard the warnings about stress management and time management as law students and future legal professionals. What I would like to talk about today are two different, yet significant, issues of liability for anyone engaged in a helping profession. Those issues are compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, more affectionately known as burnout. Compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, however, are very specific forms of burn out and require an extra special level of self-care when engaged within a helping profession.
As rationally minded as law students may be, I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few people that are equally idealistic. By this, I mean that they have great ideas and hopes about what they will be able to accomplish with their law degree, both for themselves and for the future development of society. The reason I am pointing this out is to say that many of us have a great deal of compassion and are driven by this force to make a difference. For those of us that think we are not so idealist, I will submit that even Harvey Specter, who “eats billionaires for breakfast,” has a compassionate side. With this compassion comes the risk that there may be times when we will feel like we care more about an issue than our clients or our colleagues. There may also be times where our degree of caring is disproportionate to the circumstance and there is an imbalance between our reason and compassion. Perhaps it is because of our ability to foresee the outcome and understand both sides of an issue that we become overwhelmed with compassion fatigue.
There are definitely solutions for compassion fatigue that can keep us from becoming jaded and despondent with our clients, colleagues, and ourselves. Self-care is essential, as is ensuring a work-life balance. Because we are so passionate about our work, it is easy to become very engrossed in the task. It is necessary, however, to take time off, and to take time to play. There is much evidence to verify that people are more productive when they have a balance between work and play. It is also very important to know when to put the work away as the facts of someone else’s life start to take up more space in your head than the events of your own life. Another way to manage this fatigue is to make use of mentorship and supervision. Our colleagues will understand and certainly be able to relate. They will definitely be able to see when we aren’t coping well, so it is encouraged that we use those professional resources that will help us cope well. Remember, we are very fortunate to have earned a law degree from Osgoode Hall; if we need to shift our chosen discipline, the transition is possible. Ongoing professional development is a mandatory requirement and may be the opportunity we need to explore our professional options as lawyers. We may find less fatigue in one discipline than another.
The second issue I want to discuss is vicarious trauma. The definition may appear self-evident and some of us may have already experienced traces of this while reading gruesome case law. Vicarious trauma is the emotional and sub-conscious reaction we experience as a result of listening to, counseling through, and processing information about traumatic events. There are particular elements of the helping professions that are fraught with disturbing issues, facts, situations, and scenarios. Often people will be seeking legal services at the peak of a crisis. These crises are not limited to criminal law, tort law, human rights, or family law. They could present during the death of a loved one, a corporate takeover, purchasing a home, or trying to help someone obtain citizenship or residency. People are going to walk through your office door and tell you things that you may be prepared for, but unprepared for the effect you will experience as a result. In the helping profession this is called “getting slimed.” As a result, we can become prone to sliming others. Because we work within the confines of confidentiality, what that can look like in our relationships with others is aggression, becoming easily frustrated, exhaustion, cynicism, uncontrollable crying, risky behavior, depression and anxiety, over eating, over drinking, and over working. Some of us may quip that we are immune to such circumstance, but vicarious trauma, though not an absolute, is definitely anticipated throughout several aspects of the legal professions.
Communication is necessary for managing vicarious trauma. If we are working in a team environment this may be easier than a solo practice. The Ontario Lawyers’ Assistance Program offers extensive services that may be of value to you at some point in your career. Again, however, self-care and is the greatest remedy for vicarious trauma. This care moves beyond the usual work-life balance and may require deep decompression through more intimate activities. Whether they are spiritual, psychological, or relational, it is necessary that these activities provide the opportunity for reconnection and affirmation. Personally, I tried snorkeling for the first time last December. I had never done anything so quiet and peaceful. Some of my former colleagues are marathon runners and triathletes. Of course, we may not be able to snorkel or run a marathon every day, so it is equally valuable to have more accessible practices in place that provide a brief space for calm or comfort. Find what works best for you, that moment when you are able to catch your breath and exhale deeply, and do this as often as you can. I hear cat videos are very helpful.
Mental Health affects all areas of our lives. No matter what our professional discipline, self-care will be necessary. I wish you good health.
Jennifer Brown is a 1L with extensive experience in cat videos.