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Illinois Lawyers' Assistance Program

LAP Publications

For more information about LAP Publications, to receive copies of articles, or to be added to the LAP Publications distribution list contact Tony Pacione: [email protected] or join our mailing list below. 

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Battling Cultures of Loneliness

Strategies for improving social connection, community, and belonging in the workforce.
Copyright by the Illinois State Bar Association

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Destructive Anger - When anger turns toxic, no one wins.

Being a legal professional does not give anyone a free pass to take out anger inappropriately on others.
Copyright by the Illinois State Bar Association

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To Sleep Perchance To…Enhance
Here are just a few of the things you can do to get more and better sleep.
Copyright by The Decalogue Society of Lawyers Spring, 2022 issue of The Decalogue Tablets.
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Pandemic Fatigue
For those of you struggling and experiencing what The New York Times has coined “Covid malaise,” or COVID-19 “languishing,” you are not alone. Reprinted with permission of the Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 110 #3, March 2022
Copyright by the Illinois State Bar Association. isba.org
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Social Isolation and Bullying in the Workplace
Many have experienced a sense of isolation, 30% of Americans are bullied at work. This article identifies the signs of bullying in the workplace, the damage bullying and ostracism inflict, and suggests ways we can tackle these issues within the workforce. Reprinted with permission of the Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 109 #12, December 2021.
Copyright by the Illinois State Bar Association. isba.org
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Strength from Adversity, Emerging from a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a shift in the delivery and nature of legal services. Helping attorneys maintain sustainable, satisfying, and productive careers through these uncertain times is important as we move towards the future. Read on for strategies attorneys can use to manage work and personal life while navigating pandemic-related obstacles.

Publication Credit: American Bar Association, TYL, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall 2021.

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Women, the Workforce, and COVID-19

Prior to the pandemic, women were making enormous strides in breaking down employment barriers and cracking male footholds in the employment sector. Due to the pandemic, there has been an inequitable toll on working parents, with women experiencing a higher rate of career disruption and advancement.

Publication Credit: Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 109 #9, September 2021. Copyright by the Illinois State Bar Association.

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Preventing Suicide

Simply reaching out and showing someone that you care can be someone’s lifeline. Understanding what we can do to help can be scary and leave you feeling helpless. This article explains how to help, what to do if you are experiencing any suicidal symptoms, and what to to next.

You don’t need to do any of these things perfectly to make a difference. You don’t need to be a trained professional, simply caring for and connecting with another individual can help.

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Best Thinking In Worst Case Scenarios: Improving Decision-Making Under Stress

How is your decisionmaking under stress? In uncertain times? Attorneys are more resilient than most of the population, corect? No. Wrong. We are less resilient.

Our profession is an honorable calling, but also one that can take an extraordinary personal toll. Check our ABA Barbara J. Dawson’s article based on LAP Executive Director Dr. Diana Uchiyama’s presentation.

Original Article publication credit: ABA Litigation Magazine, Spring 2020, Barbara J. Dawson

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Some Days Are Better Than Others: Self-Care Tips For Lawyers During A Pandemic

Being a lawyer is emotionally hard. Being a lawyer during a pandemic is even harder.

Click to read about the realistic factors of lawyering in a pandemic and gain insight, tips and trick towards balancing your own self-care now and into whatever the future may hold. 

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Maladaptive Perfectionism: Will I Ever Be Good Enough?

In working with law students, lawyers, and judges we are often confronted by the high internal and external expectations that legal professionals face and set for themselves in their professional and personal lives.

Maladaptive perfectionism is a term that embodies the “refusal to accept any standard short of perfection” (Oxford Dictionary), viewed clinically as a multidimensional concept with several different components.

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Compassion Fatigue: How To Stay Healthy When Working In Unhealthy Settings

Compassion fatigue is often considered an occupational workplace hazard, yet make us vulnerable to developing anxiety, depression, substance use problems, and ruminating thoughts related to the work we do. Compassion fatigue is treatable and manageable, this article helps you to identify what this is, how it functions in your daily work, and techniques for understanding how to handle it.

Special thanks to the Illinois State Bar Association Child Law Section for reprint permission.

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Fear No Evil: COVID-19 Driven Anxiety

Fear and anxiety, driven by the uncertainty of a new pandemic, seemingly changed our world and behavior in the course of a few days.

Understanding the role of uncertainty and mental heuristics in anxiety can help us to forge ahead as we navigate the new normal. Click to read about strategies to mitigate thoughts and emotions in uncertain times, gain quick methods to identify and tackle anxious behaviors, and gain invaluable resources for today’s ever-changing  landscape.

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Systemic Wellness vs. The Status Quo

Currently the legal culture does not emphasize the balance of work with one's health and wellness. This phenomenon persists despite a rising demand for and focus on wellness in the legal profession. 

Click to read about steps attorney's cam tale tp promote systemic wellness within our legal industry.

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Psychological Tolls – An Expanded Look At Civil And Political Unrest, Economic Instability, And COVID-19

It’s clear that the year 2020 and the ramifications of the many events that have transpired throughout it have resulted in significant increases in mental health problems including depression, anxiety, stress, domestic violence, suicidal ideation and behaviors.

“The basic foundation for increasing behavioral motivation and health includes taking good care of yourself, getting regular exercise, having adequate food and nutrition, and getting plenty of sleep.”

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COVID-19: The Short And Long Term Mental Health Consequences

There has been a tremendous disruption to the natural rhythm of life that we previously engaged in prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to consider the facets of our lives this pandemic has impacted as we work towards our new normal. As individuals are pushed to new limits, understanding the impact on our mental health in the immediate and foreseeable future is essential to recovery and revival.

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How Are You? Mental Well-Being, Everyday Conversations, And Achieving Your Best Practice

Mental well-being, everyday conversations, and achieving your best practice.

Throwing out the standard “how are you” script in an effort to move beyond mental health stigma. Identify, consider, align and validate your communication in your personal and professional life when it comes to well-being.

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Do You Worry About How Much You Worry?

While anxiety can be helpful in normal amounts to motivate and accomplish goals, at its worst, it can cause serious impairment and can lead to feelings of depression, alienation, deficiency, and potentially thoughts of suicide…suffering in silence is not the answer. When anxiety crosses the threshold from normal to excessive, it’s time to seek help.

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Keep Calm And…Thrive

Developing resilience through practice, learning, and rest.

Resilience is the ability to adapt, learn, grow, and thrive during times of adversity, challenge, and change. Every person and group of persons has the potential to be resilient. Read on to understand the mechanics of resiliency in today’s legal practice.

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Newsletter Archive:

12/22/23 – LAP Winter 2023 Newsletter

11/28/23 – Giving Tuesday – Together We Shine Brighter!

8/2/23 – Are You Ready To Show Your Stripes?

6/13/23 – Annual Peer Support Volunteer Training – NOW HYBRID

12/14/22 – LAP Winter 2022 Newsletter

08/12/22 – Are You Ready to Have a Roaring Good Time?

05/13/2022 – Registration Open: 2022 LAP Annual Training – Live Well and Prosper

12/10/21 – Holiday Tips from LAP

10/22/2021 – LAP Fall Newsletter: Clinical content, updates, news and more tailored for the legal profession

06/02/2021 – Registration Open: LAP Fundamentals & Foundations

04/29/2021 – Your Expert Resource for Wellbeing Week in the Law

03/25/2021 – LAP Quarterly Wellbeing: Real Problems. Real Help. Real Experts.

12/15/2020 – LAP Quarterly Wellbeing: Real Problems. Real Help. Real Experts.

12/01/2020 – It’s Giving Tuesday – consider your Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program

10/21/2020 – LAP Can Use Your Help!

08/20/2020 – LAP Quarterly Wellbeing: Real Problems. Real Help. Real Experts.

05/01/2020 – LAP Lineup: Lawyer Well-being Week

03/12/2020 – LAP Quarterly Wellbeing: Real Problems. Real Help. Real Experts.

10/24/2019 – LAP Quarterly Wellbeing: Real Problems. Real Help. Real Experts.

06/06/2019 – LAP Wellbeing Update

04/23/2019 – LAP 2019 Annual Training

02/26/2019 – LAP Wellbeing Update

01/22/2019 – LAP 2019 Joseph R. Bartylak Dinner

11/29/2018 – Winter Edition: LAP Well-Being Update

08/23/2018 – LAP 2018 Annual Dinner

07/31/2018 – Summer Edition: LAP Well-Being Update

06/27/2018 – Summer Edition: LAP Well-Being Update

04/17/2018 –  LAP Annual Training – Chicago + Carbondale