Family law practitioners help clients through some of the
most emotionally distressing times in their lives. When accepting the Blaine
Johnson award at the Family Law Institute this year, Monika
Holzer Sacks told a touching story of a client who reached out five years
post-divorce to let her know he was “okay now.” Clearly, her counsel meant a
lot to him.
But making a difference in your clients’ lives often takes a
personal toll. Family law practitioners are at risk for “secondary trauma,”
also known “compassion fatigue.” Dr. Andrew Levin, a psychiatrist who conducted
one
of the first empirical studies on lawyers and secondary trauma, uses
this definition: “‘the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a
traumatized or suffering person.’” Secondary trauma symptoms can be similar to
PTSD and can include re-experiencing images of the client’s trauma, avoiding
things that remind you of the trauma, numbness, and hypervigilance. It can also
cause practitioners to internalize the survivor’s negative emotions and can
lead to burnout. Studies
show that attorneys experiencing burnout are more prone to headaches,
hypertension, depression, insomnia, irritability, fatigue, hopelessness,
aggression, cynicism, and substance abuse.
For many of us, the undesirable symptoms associated with
secondary trauma and burnout are reason enough to combat these conditions. Another
important consideration: your clients. At least one
commentator suggests that lawyers are much less effective when suffering
from secondary trauma. Identifying too closely with clients or being
emotionally anesthetized are similarly dangerous. The lawyer might ignore
evidence she wants to avoid or be unable to provide his client with an
objective view of the case. It also easy to see how burnout responses like
insomnia or substance abuse can interfere with representation.
So what is the solution? Most articles on this topic
emphasize self-care,
e.g. relaxation techniques; adequate sleep, exercise, and nutrition; and
maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Other suggestions include regularly debriefing
with colleagues, especially other family law lawyers, and diversifying
your practice to include cases with less conflict and trauma. Including
collaborative law as part of your practice can be one way to lower your
high-conflict divorce cases.
If you have found a particular technique to be helpful or
have a story to share on this topic, please write me at rmtay@icle.org. I’d like
to write a second post sharing the aggregate of your practical advice.