Counselling for Lawyers

Offers You A Safe Place To Talk In Confidence

Issues We Can Help With

If left untreated, your issues can cause serious problems in the office and at home, leading to professional and personal challenges which you might want to avoid. Our aim is to support you through your issues in absolute confidence, help you overcome them and give you the tools to observe your behaviour and understand what drives you. You are then in a position to change your behaviour or not.

Anxiety

In Britain, one in four adults experiences at least one diagnosable mental health problem. By listening attentively and patiently, your counsellor can perceive difficulties from your point of view, as well as help you consider another way of being.

Depression

John Hopkins University found significant elevations of major depressive disorders in 3 out of 104 occupations surveyed. Lawyers topped the list. Counselling helps you explore your emotional life and understand what drives you.

Alcohol misuse

The legal profession can be stressful and some lawyers turn to alcohol as a way of coping. Your counsellor will encourage the expression of feelings and help you make sense of your feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them.

Financial worries

Managing money can be a daunting responsibility. In counselling, you can talk freely and openly in a way that is rarely possible with family and friends. Counsellors sign up to a strict code of ethics.

Prosecution

The Law expects demands that cannot always be met. This can lead to the fear of or actual prosecution. Counselling helps you look at aspects of your life which you might not have been able to face before.

Stress

Every year in the UK, 70 million workdays are lost to mental illness, including stress related conditions (Mental Health Foundation). Counselling offers you a private and confidential setting, where you can explore your difficulties and distress.

Relationships

Relationships can bring you much happiness. But when relationships break down, you can feel sad, lonely and lost. Counselling offers you a private and confidential setting where you can explore your loss and avoid being stuck in the past.

Anger

Bottled up anger, grief and embarrassment can be intense. Counselling offers you the opportunity to makes sense of your thoughts and feelings, with the idea of making them easier to understand and less intense.

Bereavement

Grief can turn your world upside down. Your counsellor will encourage you to express your feelings and thoughts around loss. They are also able to think and feel with you, without becoming overwhelmed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens at the first session?

Before you meet, your therapist will send you a confidential questionnaire to be completed (optional) and returned to your therapist before your first session. The questionnaire asks for some preliminary information about yourself and any other information you think might be helpful for your therapist to know.

At this first session, you can share your concerns and also get a sense of your therapist’s working style. Both of you will then agree on the next steps together. If you or your therapist think you may need another service, your therapist will point you in the right direction.

Will my sessions be confidential?

Strict confidentiality is always maintained and is an essential part of the counselling process. No information either verbal or written will be disclosed to anyone without your written consent.

The only circumstances where confidentiality may be breached are when your life or safety is threatened or you disclose any information which places the safety of others at risk, or where your counsellor may be obliged to comply with legal requirements. Even in situations such as this, your counsellor would always seek to obtain your consent beforehand where possible.

All counsellors are required to have a supervisor who monitors the quality of their work. The process of supervision is conducted in a way that ensures confidentiality.

Can I use my health insurance to pay for counselling sessions?

This depends on your type of policy. Firstly, you need to check with your provider to confirm whether counselling sessions will be covered. If so you need to ascertain how many sessions are included and if there are any other restrictions (e.g. time limitations, amount etc). Please be aware that you will be responsible for any payments accrued regardless of the type of insurance cover you have.

Where will our sessions take place?

Our sessions can take place face-to-face in our Central London office or via Zoom or the phone.

About Us

Counselling for Lawyers was founded by Janet Kaplan who spent 15 years in the corporate world before training as a psychodynamic counsellor at Birkbeck, London University. As a qualified Supervisor, she supervisors colleagues in the NHS and in private practice.

For six years she was an Honorary Psychotherapist in Adult Mental Health at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital, London. She currently works as a Senior Counsellor in the National Health Service and in private practice. Alongside her private practice, Janet has presented workshops to GPs on counselling.

Janet is registered with The British Association for Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Supervision. She is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and a registered member of the British Psychoanalytic Council. She holds an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. And is an approved provider for psychological therapies by various healthcare providers.

Janet has a particular interest in working with lawyers, having witnessed how unresolved emotional issues can impact on family and professional life.

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