U of T Law students develop pathways for supporting student mental health
Making the connection
by Nina Haikara
Law Chats is a confidential, weekly drop-in space, facilitated by peer mentors in the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Peer Mental Health Support Program (PMHSP). The sessions help law students connect and share perspectives and experiences with mental health.
Law Chats was co-founded by peer mentor Erica McLachlan (JD/MPP 2021) and is co-facilitated by Hannah Johnson 3L, who is also a PMHSP executive along with Kristen Kephalas, 3L. It's just one of the mental health supports available to JD students at the Faculty.
“I find it really inspiring to be able to connect with students who are willing to put up their hand if they're having a hard time,” says McLachlan, who is completing her last semester of a four-year joint program in law and public policy.
McLachlan, who has been active in the PMHSP since its inception a few years ago, says mentors receive training on several modules, from topics that include mentorship and recognizing the signs of mental health distress, including suicide.
“In my second year, there were only two of us who were trained mentors, yet almost half the incoming class expressed an interest in mental health mentorship. There was clearly a lot of interest and recognition of the importance of this kind of support,” says McLachlan.
PMHSP has since grown to a group of more than 25 dedicated mentors.
“[There is a] growing appreciation for the need. [We’re] doing the best we can to support where we can,” adds McLachlan who co-founded, designed and facilitated Law Chats with her classmate, David Ryback (JD 2019).
Mental health in the classroom
Evidence has shown lawyers experience higher rates of mental health issues and challenges including anxiety, depression and high rates of suicide, than many other professions, says Terry Gardiner, Program Manager of Mental Health and Wellness at the Faculty.
“Some of the literature indicates that compared to similar, demanding professions, for example, social work or healthcare, the research suggests other professions have self-care built in as part of the [education],” says Gardiner.
Gardiner, who joined the Faculty last summer, is responsible for leading ongoing efforts to foster a supportive and healthy work and learning environment.
In partnership with U of T’s Health & Wellness, counselor Charlie Williams provides dedicated mental health counselling to law students.
“We help students access what we offer, what's available through the University, and if necessary, within the community, because there is a wide range of resources and sometimes the number of offerings can feel overwhelming,” says Gardiner. Through a highly consultative process, the JD program developed its Mental Health Strategic Action Plan.
McLachlan adds PMHSP can offer students an additional safety net.
“For students who are coming into the PMHSP, they have taken that first step to say, ‘I think I might need support this year.’ So, if we notice a mentee isn't responding, we can get in touch with Terry and he will reach out to that person.”
For five years, the law school has been hosting a monthly series on Mindfulness and the Law with Temerty Faculty of Medicine doctoral student Elli Weisbaum, an instructor for the Applied Mindfulness and Meditation Certificate Program with U of T’s School of Continuing Studies. This year the series started in the summer before courses began. In addition to these workshops, Gardiner facilitates a weekly “Monday Mindfulness” drop-in which is open to students, staff and faculty.
“Mindfulness is a practice. It’s not something that you can do once a month, you have to use it in an ongoing way for it to be meaningful and effective.”
In the fall, Gardiner began to bridge the school’s mental health supports with the classroom by launching a pilot project during Professor Angela Fernandez’s course. Each week, he offered five to seven minutes of mindfulness at the end of each class.
“Mindfulness can improve focus, attention, cognitive skills, which are all key to becoming a successful and effective lawyer.
“Imagine what it would be like if we embed that as part of the training, as part of the way lawyers think in their learning about the law?”
Gardiner says they are now looking at the pilot data, based on the students’ experience, to implement something meaningful in an ongoing way.
McLachlan agrees that mindfulness is an incredible tool, but says it has its limits. If the mountain someone is pushing a rock up is too steep, she says, one can only push so hard.
“We have a lot of self-starters. People [at U of T Law] are driven and dedicated. But you can't learn if you're struggling with either mental health issues or chronic stress. We also have to take an intersectional lens and recognize that some students are disproportionately impacted by institutional structures.”
'A multitude of perspectives'
In the fall, the Asia Law Society hosted a panel event on the intersections of mental health, Asian-Canadian identity and the legal community from the perspectives of panelists Kennes Lin, a clinician at the Hong Fook Mental Health Association, Kate Shao (JD 2017), a labour and employment lawyer for the City of Toronto and alumna Malini Vijaykumar (JD 2016), labour and employment associate at Nelligan Law.
“The Asia Law Society builds community among Asian or Asian-identifying students at the law school, [organizes events with alumni] and provides supports from a mental health perspective,” says Annecy Pang, 2L and co-president of the society.
The students say the panel conversation was especially important in an age of rising anti-Asian racism and xenophobia surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Fellow society co-president Rebecca Xie, 2L, said their discussion helped tie together compounded impacts on Asian lawyers’ mental health. The panelists shared with attendees general strategies that could be used to deal with difficult situations in the workplace.
“[For example, Lin] identified common narratives we tell ourselves about specific situations and how we can move away from those in a more positive framing.”
Xie says she now recognizes the importance of having a multitude of cultural perspectives on mental health.
“During the session, when a panelist mentioned something they had gone through, everyone [said], 'Gosh, I've dealt with that, too.' These are the narratives that maybe aren't talked about with regard to mental health in law. I think having more than just the default narrative should happen more often," said Xie.
Pang adds mental health is something everyone at U of T Law should be prioritizing.
A mental health legacy
The Faculty is grateful for the many the student leaders and volunteers who support our students and for the generosity of Arnie Cader (LLB 1965) who has made both an expendable and planned gift in support of health and wellness at U of T Law.
“I spent three great years at the Faculty of Law. I loved it. The experience set me up for a great legal and business career,” says Cader.
“In my lifetime, I’ve also had three bouts of clinical depression.”
Cader shares openly he was twice hospitalized at the Clarke Institute in Toronto, now known as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, or CAMH. He later co-founded and was the first chairman of the Institute’s first charitable foundation.
“I was impressed when I learned of the efforts the law school has gone to — including the hiring of dedicated wellness staff — to help young adults navigate their mental health,” he says, adding, “I wanted to give back in a meaningful way.”