(1hr substance abuse/mental health awareness CLE Credit pending)
Speakers: Kelly Durden-Posey, NC Licensed Attorney and Founder of Inspired Inclusivity Consulting; and Gavin Alexander MA Licensed Attorney, Certified Wellness Specialist, and Wellness Director at Jackson Lewis, P.C.
What: Mental Wellness CLE presentation
When: Wednesday, October 26th, 2022, time 12:00pm-1:00pm EST
Where: Online GoToWebinar Registration
Why: We need to normalize discussing and addressing the deep stigmatization that attorneys face when struggling with mental illness, and work toward a better understanding of how members in the legal community can address their mental health appropriately without being stigmatized for doing so.
Program Description:
This Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course will take a deep look at the stigmatization that attorneys experience when they struggle with mental illness, and work toward a better understanding of how members of the legal community can address their mental health appropriately without being stigmatized for doing so. Members of the LGBTQ+ legal community who face mental health challenges know that it can be even harder to “come out” as having mental illness as it is to come out as LGBTQ+. And for those at the intersection of being BIPOC and LGBTQ+ facing issues of racism, oppression, and intergenerational trauma these mental health struggles can come at an even higher rate than their counterparts.
The panel will explore how the lessons that these communities have learned about bias and resiliency have impacted their legal work; how neurodivergence impacts the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities; and we will also discuss the ways in which LGBTQ+ attorneys with intersectional identities are at higher risk of not having the support they need for mental health challenges, and also face higher penalties for admitting those challenges. We will discuss the vicarious trauma that so many lawyers suffer, and how that particularly impacts members of North Carolina’s diverse LGBTQ+ communities. The panel will address both the practical and the ethical issues that arise when attorneys sublimate their mental health issues, and will suggest ways that everyone can work toward destigmatizing mental health challenges for the end goals of being healthier, happier, and better advocates for our clients.
