Illinois (IL) Mental Health Sub Abuse CLE Course Catalog

In this program, seasoned mental health attorney Carolyn Reinach Wolf (Abrams Fensterman LLP) will take the audience to an in-depth conversation about the growing issues surrounding substance abuse and addiction among legal professionals. The speaker will also present the best strategies and practices for prevention and treatment.

With a demanding work schedule and stressful environment, many lawyers are no strangers to mental health challenges and often don't get the help they need. Join our mental health workshop to hear key actionable insights that will help you identify, understand and respond to mental health challenges of your own and others within the legal industry. Our speakers will share experiences and insights to ensure those in the legal industry are well-equipped with the right mental health resources and effective communication skills to discuss mental health and wellness.

Lawyers are much more likely than other professions to suffer from substance use and mental health disorders due to the high-stress nature of our work and a culture that encourages us to be self-reliant. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing stress and isolation among lawyers has made this problem even worse, particularly for the newest members of the bar. Our experts discuss this alarming trend and what we can do to help ourselves and our colleagues during these difficult times.

Experts differ on whether lawyers are more prone to depression than others who work in equally high-stress occupations such as doctors. But one thing is clear: the stigma associated with depression is one of the reasons lawyers may not get help when they need it. Is an ancient virus the reason humans are susceptible to substance use disorders? How has modern medicine changed the way we treat substance use disorders? This program answers these important questions so that today's lawyers have the tools they need to help themselves or a colleague.

The workforce has changed significantly in recent years in more ways than we ever imagined. Among these changes, employee expectations have evolved and leaders are losing touch with many legal professionals suffering from burnout. It is essential that company leaders learn how to engage their team, manage burnout more effectively, and most importantly reflect on how to keep their employees happy, as this has a direct impact on financial success. Learning how to pick up on mental health signals in the current working environment and gaining the tools to help your teams work more mindfully is key to moving forward in these unprecedented times.

This session will cover barriers to wellness for lawyers, and why lawyers are often reluctant to seek help. This panel will also include achievable strategies that lawyers can employ to enhance their well-being. In addition, this program will review lawyers' ethical obligations, and how enhancing personal well-being and adopting strategies for balancing life’s demands can enhance their ability to comply with these obligations.

Stuart Teicher, Esq., posts some funny stuff while on the road as a CLE teacher. Like most of society he documents his life on FaceBook. But the difference is that most of his posts actually teach some important mental health lessons for lawyers. Join him as he discusses how lawyers are affected by anxiety, compassion fatigue, over-functioning, and more.