Daniel T. Lukasik Archives - Lawyers With Depression

How EMDR Therapy Can Help Lawyers Overcome Depression

Jennifer Kupferman, LMSW, MA, JD, is a former lawyer turned therapist who specializes in treating lawyers with a variety of mental health conditions, including depression. She earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her undergraduate degree from Yale. In addition to being a therapist, she gives CLE presentations on mental health in the legal profession throughout the U.S. Call or Email Jennifer now for a free 15-minute consultation – (929) 202-4159.

Introduction

The legal profession is known for its prestige, intellectual challenge, and social impact. Yet, behind the polished courtroom arguments and carefully constructed contracts lies a more troubling reality: lawyers experience disproportionately high rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout. A 2016 study by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation revealed that 28% of lawyers struggle with depression, a rate much higher than in the general population.

While traditional treatments such as talk therapy and medication have helped many, a growing number of lawyers are turning to an alternative, neuroscience-based therapy known as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Originally developed to treat trauma, EMDR is gaining attention as a powerful tool for those suffering from depression, especially when that depression is rooted in unresolved emotional stress, perfectionism, or adverse life experiences.

In this post, I’ll explore why depression is so prevalent in the legal field and how EMDR can provide real, lasting relief for lawyers who are silently suffering.

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Silent Struggles: Gendered Pressures on Male Lawyers Contribute to Depression

This guest blog is written by Shebna N. Osanmoh, PMHNP-BC, a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner affiliated with Savant Care, Los Altos, CA, a mental health clinic.

The legal profession is known for long hours, adversarial culture, and high stakes. While all lawyers are vulnerable to mental health issues, an often overlooked group may be suffering in silence—mainly male lawyers.

There’s been increasing awareness of mental health in the legal field, but how depression shows up and is managed in men has been underexamined. This silence is driven by gender expectations, social stigma, and professional pressures, and can lead to serious consequences.

The Silent Burden of Stoicism

From their first year in law school, male lawyers are conditioned to demonstrate competence, assertiveness, and composure. They are trained to suppress their emotions in the courtroom, stay calm under pressure, and base their decisions on logic rather than feelings. These traits are valued professionally, but they can be harmful personally.

The cultural script for male lawyers dictates that they must maintain a strong image at all times. Emotional vulnerability? That’s a weakness. Needing support? It’s a sign you can’t handle the heat. This idealized version of the male lawyer —stoic, confident, and endlessly resilient —leaves little room for authentic emotional experience.

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One Therapist’s Take on Lawyer Addiction & Mental Health

This is a guest blog by Nicole Roder, LCSW-C, a bilingual DBT therapist in Bethesda, MD, certified by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification. She is intensively trained in DBT, DBT prolonged exposure for PTSD, DBT for parents, couples, and families, and DBT for substance use disorders. In her practice, she treats adults and adolescents with BPD, PTSD, DMDD, SUD, and related disorders.

The legal profession is renowned for its rigorous demands and high-pressure environment. Attorneys often face long working hours, tight deadlines, and the stress of high-stakes cases. Pursuing success in this competitive field requires a delicate balance between ambition and integrity, with many lawyers dedicating years to honing their skills and cultivating key relationships. Lawyers have to hustle and compete for clients and recognition. They must constantly learn and stay updated on changing laws and legal trends. This relentless pace and pressure can take a significant toll on attorneys’ mental and physical health, making it a profession where the risk of substance abuse is notably high.

As a therapist who treats addictions, I have seen many people who use alcohol to cope with high-stress jobs. I have also seen people suffer terrible losses when that coping mechanism becomes an addiction. Fortunately, there are well-researched treatments that can help attorneys overcome addiction. Let’s take a look at the data on addiction among lawyers, the consequences of addiction, and some resources that might help overcome the problem.

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Unpacking Depression: An Interview with Psychologist Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg

Today’s guest is Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg. Dr. Wehrenberg is a clinical psychologist in Naperville, Illinois. She is the author of six books on the treatment of anxiety and depression published by W.W. Norton, including, “The Ten Best-Ever Depression Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Depressed and What You Can Do to Change It” and “Anxiety + Depression: Effective Treatment of the Big Two Co-Occurring Disorders.” An international trainer of mental health professionals, Dr. Wehrenberg coaches people with anxiety via the internet and phone. She’s a frequent contributor to the award-winning magazine, Psychotherapy Networker and she blogs on depression for the magazine Psychology Today.

Dan:

What is the difference between sadness and depression and why do people confuse the two so often?

Dr. Wehrenberg:

Because depression comprises sadness. Sadness is a response to a specific situation in which we usually have some kind of loss. The loss of a self-esteem, a loss of a loved one, the loss of a desired goal. Depression is really more about the energy – whether it’s mental energy or physical energy – to make an effective response. So, sadness is an appropriate and transient emotion, but depression sticks around and affects all of our daily behaviors and interactions.

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The Twin Pillars of Depression

“Once you choose hope, anything is possible.” – Christopher Reeve

There are two pillars upon which depression rests.

Helplessness

When in the grip of depression, we feel helpless despite our efforts to pull out. The more we struggle, the more exhausted we become. In her book Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes, “They flank me – Depression on my left, loneliness on my right. They don’t need to show their badges. I know these guys very well . . . then they frisk me. They empty my pockets of any joy I had been carrying there.”

Hopelessness

Helplessness often leads to profound hopelessness about the future. In her book Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel writes, “That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious and compounds daily that it’s impossible to ever see the end.”

What I have learned over the past twenty years of living with depression is we need to chisel away at these twin pillars. I began to discover helplessness and hopelessness are disempowering: I had no choice but to live my days under this rock of sadness. My healing involved learning that I did have options in how I related to life when depressed. And I found this power to choose empowering and life-affirming.

How did I leave helplessness and hopelessness behind?

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Putting Pen to Paper: Writers on Depression

That terrible mood of depression, whether it’s any good or not, is what is known as The Artist’s Reward. Ernest Hemmingway

Others imply that they know what it is like to be depressed because they have gone through a divorce, lost a job, or broken up with someone. But these experiences carry with them feelings. Depression, instead, is flat, hollow, and unendurable. It is also tiresome. People cannot abide being around you when you are depressed. They might think that they ought to, and they might even try, but you know, and they know that you are tedious beyond belief: you are irritable and paranoid and humorless and lifeless and critical and demanding, and no reassurance is ever enough. You’re frightened, and you’re frightening, and you’re “not at all like yourself but will be soon,” but you know you won’t. Kay Redfield Jamison, Night Falls Fast

That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it’s impossible to ever see the end. Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America

In depression . . . faith in deliverance, in ultimate restoration, is absent. The pain is unrelenting, and what makes the condition intolerable is the foreknowledge that no remedy will come – – not in a day, an hour, a month, or a minute . . . It is hopelessness even more than pain that crushes the soul. William Styron, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness

They flank me-Depression on my left, loneliness on my right. They don’t need to show their badges. I know these guys very well. …then they frisk me. They empty my pockets of any joy I had been carrying there. Depression even confiscates my identity; but he always does that. Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven hurts. Penelope Sweet

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The Depression Journey: Walking the Rocky Trail With a Therapist

Diagnosed with major depression by a psychiatrist when I was forty years old, I had to find a therapist who could help me. The physical side of the illness pounded me: sleeplessness, fatigue, and the inability to concentrate and be productive at my job as a lawyer. But also the psychological dimension: feelings of low self-worth, chronic sadness, and negative thoughts about my ability to recover and be happy again.

A friend recommended me to the man who would become my therapist for the next twenty years. Jerry was a psychology professor at a local university. From the Bronx, he has a wonderful, salty sense of humor. Not only was he brilliant, but he was also warm and engaging. I felt at home, and we quickly bonded.

During this dark time in my life, I felt isolated. More often than not, I felt lonely and didn’t know anyone with depression that could understand what I was going through. Jerry did. He became my closest ally, who was with me every step of the way as I dug my way out of the dark cellar of depression. It took time. And patience that was tough to come by as I slogged through depression for years. But his strong and kind presence saw me through. He gave me insight into what depression was and the ruminative, distorted thinking that the disease would churn out. Jerry called this “crooked thinking.” I learned to recognize such thoughts as not part of who I truly was but as part of the illness. It gave me a distance from them and made it easier not to identify with them. This opened up the possibility – and hope – that I could let go of these destructive thoughts and embrace more realistic, positive ones.

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The Dark Side of Success: A Psychiatrist’s Exploration of Depression in the Legal Profession

By Joann Mundin, M.D.

There are significant effects of depression in the legal profession that are pervasive. Lawyer depression can have terrible personal and professional ripple effects for attorneys but also impacts clients, business partners, employees, and staff.

The general population is significantly affected by depression, with 17.3 million persons, or 7.1% of all adults in the US, reporting having experienced a major depressive episode in 2017. But, the proportion of depression among attorneys is considerably higher: according to ALM’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey from 2020, 31.2% of the more than 3,800 respondents report having a depressive disorder. This indicates that compared to the ordinary US adult, lawyers have an approximately three-fold higher risk of developing depression.

Nevertheless, the stigma associated with mental illness keeps lawyers from getting help immediately. This can cause excessive and prolonged distress, making the problem worse over time.

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Managing Depression: Podcast Interview with Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg, Author of “The Ten

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Today’s guest is Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg. Dr. Wehrenberg is a clinical psychologist in Naperville, Illinois. She is the author of six books on the treatment of anxiety and depression published by W.W. Norton, including, “The Ten Best-Ever Depression Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Depressed and What You Can Do to Change It” and “Anxiety + Depression: Effective Treatment of the Big Two Co-Occurring Disorders.” An international trainer of mental health professionals, Dr. Wehrenberg coaches people with anxiety via the internet and phone. She’s a frequent contributor to the award-winning magazine, Psychotherapy Networker and she blogs on depression for the magazine Psychology Today.

Dan:

What is the difference between sadness and depression and why do people confuse the two so often?

Dr. Wehrenberg:

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Podcast Interview With Mary Cregan, Author of “The Scar: A Personal History of Depression and Recovery”

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Dan:

I’m Dan Lukasik. Today’s guest is Mary Cregan, author of the book The Scar: A Personal History of Depression and Recovery. Mary received her PhD from Columbia University and is a lecturer in English literature at Barnard College in New York City, where she lives with her husband and son. Welcome to the show, Mary.

Mary:

Thank you, Dan.

Dan: Mary, where does the title of the book come from?

Mary:

The title is the origin of the story, really. I have a scar from a suicide attempt I made in the very intense depressive episode that followed the death of my first child. That was when I was first diagnosed with major depression. The story that I tell in the book goes back to that scar which, of course, is with me always and is a kind of memory on my body of that experience. Because of the scar I try to return to that time to tell the story of my depression and the larger history of depression.

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