Recently they posted about the stigmatization of seeking help for mental health issues while in law school. They talk a lot about the way the structure of law school has become mechanized, and about how the Socratic method is a very useful way to teach, but that there is never going to be a 'one-size fits all' approach to education, and the fact that trying to force students to fit molds that do not work for them can increase mental health issues as stress levels rise.
Too frequently, when students do reach out for help, they're told that 'That's just the way it is' and that they have to toughen up, or perhaps consider that law school is not for them, which could cause talented people to quit when really they just need a professor who's willing to sit down with them and work a few things out. This mentality is a double-edged sword, though, in my opinion. Of course we want to accommodate people who aren't the cookie-cutter 'ideal', because that's how we ultimately attain diversity, which is so important in the legal field.
At the same time, there is a legitimate argument to be made that if the stress of law school is too much for you to handle, the stress of a law firm would be equally as high. Isn't it better to figure out that this isn't the life for you when you're in 1L, rather than when you've spent three years earning a degree which you now can't use? Then again, plenty of people seek law degrees without planning to work at a BigLaw firm, and shutting them out of their education on that premise is just unfair.
There has to be a middle ground between maintaining a tough environment, and driving students into crisis.
One of the things I was surprised that the article didn't mention was the bar exam's mental health questions, which I know influence a lot of students' decisions to seek mental health or substance abuse assistance. The American Bar Association claims that the only disclosures required on the mental health section of the Character and Fitness Requirements are based around conduct or if an applicant has a serious disorder that would actively impair their ability to practice law, but when each section starts off with a reminder that a lack of transparency is grounds for dismissal, a lot of applicants feel pressure to disclose any sort of mental health issues they've ever experienced.
Recently, there has been a push to remove or heavily revise this segment of the bar exam. Multiple studies over the years have shown that the questions, which were initially intended to judge whether or not an applicant was capable of fairly representing their clients, actually have ended up driving law students away from seeking mental healthcare, for fear that they'd have to disclose the counseling.
Taking this into account alongside the issues raised in the Girl's Guide post, it seems that a structural overhaul is necessary for the sake of the mental health of prospective and current law students throughout the country. Professors can't be telling students that they need to suck it up when they're overly stressed or a class style for which there is no alternative isn't working for them. The bar exam needs to provide a way for students to seek basic mental healthcare without having to disclose the details of it during the bar exam, or being afraid that their disclosures will result in them being found ineligible to pass.
I do want to stress that no matter what your situation is, it's always better to seek help rather than to try to struggle alone. Even if you're afraid of the impact it will have on your Character and Fitness section, if you're struggling with mental health issues, you show maturity and responsibility to choosing to address them, and maintaining mental stability is more important than the potential repercussions.
If anyone here is struggling with mental health issues, here are a few resources and hotlines:
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1-800-487-4889
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), 1-800-656-4673
There are always options available to you.
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