16 January 2020
Lawcare And Academics Launch ‘Fit For Law’ To Combat Stress
Legal mental health and wellbeing charity LawCare and
academics at the University of Sheffield and The Open University launch a new
free online resource on emotional competency and professional resilience for
the legal community today.
The interactive resource, called Fit for Law, is part of an
on-going project to promote psychologically and emotionally healthier ways of
working within law and was developed based on evidence from focus groups with
legal professionals across the UK and Ireland.
The course takes 2-4 hours in
total to complete but is broken down into smaller sections, and includes videos
from legal professionals discussing wellbeing issues as well as a range of
interactive activities.
Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare, said: “We know from our
work in supporting lawyers for over 20 years how difficult it is for lawyers to
admit they are struggling with the pressures of work - which often leads
them to seek help when they are nearing crisis. We want to change this.
Providing legal professionals with resources to enable them to understand and
develop key emotional competencies such as emotional self-awareness,
self-reflection and better strategies for emotional self-regulation will equip
them more effectively for practice, enhance their wellbeing and potentially
reduce levels of stress, anxiety and depression.”
Dr Emma Jones, Senior Lecturer in
Law at the
University of Sheffield said: “The course being launched focuses on ‘Managing
and Understanding Yourself’ and offers legal professionals practical tips,
based on sound evidence, to assist them in developing healthier working
practices to enhance their wellbeing. We are also developing a further course
on ‘Working with Others’ and a tool kit for employers, to encourage positive
organisational and cultural change in the legal workplace.”
The resources are available to everyone studying law or
working in the legal profession in the UK and Ireland and could be used as CPD
in some jurisdictions. For more information visit www.fitforlaw.org.uk