Self Care for Lawyers (Professional Skills)

About the seminar: 

The legal industry is renowned for the toll it takes on its lawyers. High workloads, high pressured environments, potential severe consequences for poor results, and continued exposure to distressing material all contribute to the statistic of 1 in 3 lawyers experiencing some form of mental health concern during their career, be it depression, anxiety, substance misuse, or stress.

The key is learning how to not wait until feeling the impact of these factors to address them, but to build positive proactive strategies to remaining in a positive state of wellbeing and performance. This training focuses on teaching lawyers the six paradigms of wellbeing which are proven to support a positive state of wellbeing, proven in Positive Psychology.

Speakers:    

Oliver Brecht is a psychologist and the Managing Director of Veretis, where he divides his time working as a court report writer and working with the players and coaching staff at the Sydney Swans AFL and Sydney Roosters NRL clubs, as well as supporting the jockeys across NSW and ACT. He completed his Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at the University of South Australia before returning to Sydney and completing his Masters of Professional Psychology at the University of Wollongong. During this time Oliver gained experience through volunteering as a Lifeline Telephonce Crisis Supporter, working as a Blackdog R.E.A.C.H facilitator and completing a placement with NSW Corrective Services. He is the President of the Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australasia and an Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society.

Andrew Wong is a solicitor and provisional psychologist. He currently works as a Senior Consultant of Veretis and The Forensic Hospital. He received a Bachelor of Arts-Psychology (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at Macquarie University. He is currently completing his Master of Clinical Psychology at Western Sydney University. He previously practised criminal law and civil litigation as a solicitor and has a wealth of experience in psychology and research, especially in the area of vulnerable populations, such as offenders. He is a Co-President of the Australian Dispute Resolution Association and Secretary of the Australian Psychological Society, Dispute Resolution and Psychology Interest Group.