Health and wellness trends may come and go, but it’s a more enduring change to the culture of the legal profession that interests Kiran Litt.
Over the last four years as Osgoode Professional Development’s Student Success and Wellness Counsellor, Litt has seen evidence that conversations about mental health are becoming increasingly normalized among lawyers and law students.
“When we do student orientations, more and more of them are open to having a discussion about things like burnout, stress management and work-life balance,” she says. “One of the major wellness trends has been this shift in terms of openness and awareness that talking about these issues doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with you.”
Litt is uniquely qualified for her role at Osgoode, with professional roots in both social work and the law. After graduating from law school in the U.K., she returned home to Canada, where she earned an LLM and was called to the bar in Ontario, before switching her focus to counselling.
“I wanted to work with law students, because I saw it as a good way to combine both areas,” Litt says. “I think it’s helpful for the students to know that I can relate to their worries about finding a job, writing exams and adjusting to a new environment, because I’ve been through it myself.”
The list of problems that students turn to Litt and her team for help with is a long one and may have everything – or nothing – to do with their status as a Professional LLM candidate, depending on the individual.
“Many of our LLM students come from other countries and a lot of what we talk about is acclimatizing to a new place and integrating into the Canadian legal community when you feel like you’re in competition with J.D. students and you don’t know as much about how things work here,” Litt says.
Other students need support with more general issues that could be affecting their studies or overall well-being, she adds. That could include those dealing with addictions, relationship breakdowns, family-related anxiety, financial worries or medical conditions impacting on their mental health.
Despite the progress she has witnessed, Litt says cultural or personal beliefs still remain a barrier to help for some students, including internationally trained lawyers enrolled in one of Osgoode’s full-time Professional LLM programs.
To help lift the stigma, here are three things she says LLM students should know about counselling:
1. It’s not as scary as you think
Litt understands why students may find a trip to a wellness as daunting, but she says that the reaction is usually the same from wary first-timers: “Once they come to me and realize that this is just a space for them to talk, they feel better,” Litt says. “The first step is asking for help, so if you’re having a hard time, you’re not sleeping well or you’re feeling anxious, come in as soon as you can so that you can stop carrying it around by yourself.”
2. It’s a judgment-free space
“People worry that they will be seen as flawed or that there’s something really wrong with them, but we’re not here to judge,” Litt says. “Everything you say in the room – with a few very specific exceptions – stays between us. It’s not going to have any effect on your grades or your job.”
3. You’re in control
Every individual has their own comfort level. Whether you’re on top of the latest wellness trends or completely new to any kind of therapy, Litt adjusts her approach to your unique needs. “It’s the student who decides where we’re taking the sessions and what we’re talking about,” she explains. “We may just talk once if you come in and feel better or we could speak regularly over a longer period. It all depends on the situation and the person.”
Kiran Litt
Student Success & Wellness Counsellor