As part of our commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our team, particularly those working in the emotionally demanding area of family law, we are proud to partner with Vanessa Gardiner, an experienced professional supervisor.
Vanessa provides a confidential, reflective space for our family lawyers to process the complex emotional challenges they encounter in their work. As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to highlight this important service and the significant role it plays in promoting resilience, professional support, and psychological safety within our team.
To highlight this work, we asked Vanessa a few questions about the challenges faced by professionals in looking after their mental health and the role of supervision in this context.
From your perspective, what are some of the key challenges professionals face in looking after their mental health, and how can workplaces create environments that better support emotional wellbeing?
Professionals experience a range of challenges daily to their mental health especially those working with clients on the front line of a caring profession, like family lawyers. Many are at risk of burnout with high workloads, long hours and with hybrid working an “always on” culture has developed. The challenges experienced also differ, particularly in the law, between trainees, solicitors and partners whose roles include differing responsibilities, priorities and relationships within the workplace.
The LawCare Impact Report 2023 reported a 14% increase in people contacting their services for mental health support in 2023. More people sought help in 2023 than during the Covid 19 pandemic.
LawCare reported that enquiries to them included the following issues:
- 22% stress
- 13% anxiety
- 14% workplace bullying and harassment
- 13% career concerns
The Deloitte Global’s Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2024 covering all sectors of industry recorded over a third of those responding to the survey feel regularly anxious or stressed (36% of Gen Zs and 33% of millennials) and that their job is a key factor in their anxiety or stress, with this showing no improvement on previous years.
The International Bar Association Mental Wellbeing in the legal profession: A global study October 2021 concluded employers and regulators have “a legal and ethical duty” to properly provide for the wellbeing of lawyers. The profession is described as being in crisis.
Employers can support their teams by acknowledging the importance of prioritising wellbeing and encouraging open discussion about mental health. Providing independent supervision to their teams is a great way to provide a safe environment for employees.
For those unfamiliar with professional supervision, can you explain what your role involves on a practical level - what does a typical session look like, and how do you support professionals in that space?
Recommended best practice is for supervision to take place per individual for one hour every month. It can be remotely via Zoom or in person. This enables a habitual practice of making time to express yourself, whether all feels like it is going well or if you are having a difficult time. Regularly taking time to talk about yourself helps you to learn and process your experiences turning them into learning experiences to grow your mindset and build healthy resilience and self-awareness. It is a chance to celebrate your successes as well and understand what contributed towards it.
Every meeting is different with every person. There is no set agenda or objective and you have no obligation to do anything before or after the meetings. Some people bring specific issues to supervision they want to talk about, and others will turn up unsure of what to say, but it never takes long within some open questioning and curiosity by your supervisor for people to open up and share what is on their mind. How often do you have someone’s undivided attention, who is only interested in what you are saying and helping you gain a deeper understanding of yourself? Some people have never experienced this, and once you do, you will quickly feel the benefits of verbalising what is going on in your head and body
.
Most conversations will include discussion about clients as individuals, and their behaviour towards the lawyer or professional or a particular client matter, Court hearing or important meeting that is forthcoming, and concerning them. We can talk about relationships between employees and/or employers and how to navigate difficult situations. Some may want to talk about unhappiness in the workplace and want to explore what is causing it and what actions they want or can take to manage or improve their own situation. Sometimes personal relationships can impact work, and vice versa and it can be helpful to explore those circumstances as well as inevitably our personal and working lives can never be completely separate.
For example, a lawyer tells her supervisor that she has a very difficult client, who rejects all of her advice when delivered and whilst demanding a speedy and inexpensive resolution to her divorce, will question everything she does or say in detail, will not follow advice and seemingly does everything she can to obstruct the process from making progress. She is considering informing the client that the relationship has broken down and that she can no longer represent her. In reality, this isn’t a difficult case on the facts, and the other lawyer is reasonable enough to work with. If the client would only listen and be reasonable, she could sort this out for her.
This is not an uncommon concern which is brought to supervision. The supervisor will see this as an opportunity to explore the client as a person, the nature of the behaviour exhibited and what interventions the lawyer is taking or could consider implementing to improve the relationship between client and lawyer. What does the lawyer know about the client personally? Are there certain ways of communicating with this client that see better results than others? Does the client converse or communicate in a specific way, and what does that tell you about them? Have you asked the client why she is resisting and refusing your advice and what benefit is the client getting from it. Are your objectives and those of the client truly aligned? Does she really want a speedy divorce, or is there a greater intention or emotion (like fear of an unknown future) which she is hiding? Are you frustrated because the client’s obstructive approach is making you question your own abilities or are you worried you could be seen to be ineffective by others? What boundaries have you put in place or would like to use with the client to protect yourself from emails or texts which you find upsetting or challenging to read and what will you do if those boundaries are crossed? This might sound familiar, and perhaps you or a colleague have experienced a client like this.
As a supervisor I will sit with my supervisee, ask open questions and listen. I am there as a reflective practitioner, to listen, to engage with you in creative discussion and challenge you. I have no expectations of what you will bring to a session and I am there solely for your benefit.
Family law can be emotionally intense and, at times, overwhelming. How does professional supervision help professionals in this field maintain their mental wellbeing while continuing to support their clients effectively?
Supervision offers a regular confidential space, dedicated solely to each individual. It is an opportunity to stand back and reflect whilst engaging in a search for new options, discover new ways of learning and new skills that can emerge from difficult situations, challenging clients and seek support, to talk about anything work related and explore their thoughts, feelings and actions.
What often begins as an opportunity to express and relieve yourself of concerns you may have about your work, clients or any other issues impacting on your professional life, develops into a long-term sustainable opportunity for professional and personal development. Those who engage in supervision purposefully and with intention to understand themselves better and want to be the best version of themselves, will increase their knowledge, skill level, improve client relationships and widen their abilities to approach problem solving more creatively, independently with confidence and agency. They are more likely to find happiness in the workplace and have more headspace to work with their clients.
Mental Health Awareness Week promotes open conversations about emotional wellbeing - what message would you share with legal professionals who may be hesitant about engaging in supervision for the first time?
Supervision has arisen out of what is a clear and obvious need within the legal profession for mental health and wellbeing to be proactively protected for our lawyers. It is no longer sufficient to signpost our teams or ourselves when they experience mental ill health. We must proactively take action to protect them and prevent it to begin with. Not only can you help to manage stress or anxiety you may be feeling about work through talking about it but you can start a journey of self-development and growth. Most people only seek mental health support when the situation is so bad they cannot ignore it any longer, and will work hard to regain emotional stability, and then unintentionally relapse with the cycle repeating itself. However, it is when times are good, we can work even harder on ourselves, stretch our thought processes, skills, language and see what we are really capable of if we trust ourselves enough to stride forwards. Try supervision it will an investment in yourself.
We at Clifton Ingram are incredibly grateful to Vanessa for the compassionate, expert support she provides to our family law team. Her supervision sessions offer not just a space for reflection, but a vital source of resilience and professional care for those working in some of the most emotionally charged areas of the law. At a time when mental health is rightly gaining more attention across the legal sector, Vanessa’s work is a cornerstone of our commitment to looking after the wellbeing of our people. We value her contribution enormously and are proud to continue this partnership.
You can find out more about Vanessa and her services here.