Lawyer Therapy

Head and shoulders photo of Marc Mason

Lawyer Therapy is a service provided by Marc Mason MBACP.

Prior to training as a counsellor I practiced as a barrister specialising in family law. I am also Senior Lecturer in law at the University of Westminster. This has allowed me to explore issues relating to effective legal practice and lawyer wellbeing through my practice, teaching and research.

Therapy can provide a confidential, non-judgemental space for you to explore the impact the work has on you and your life. I can also facilitate reflective approaches to practice that contribute to a sustainable and skillful legal practice.

Therapy and Reflective Practice facilitation

I provide therapy sessions for individuals at any stage of their career. My experience supports me in providing therapy for solicitors, barristers, judges, paralegals and other laywers as well as other professionals. I bring an awareness of the cultures of legal practice  and professional life and the issues that lawyers might be facing (although I hold this awareness lightly to allow your experience to take the focus). We can work either face-to-face or online. Our sessions can take a well being and personal development focus, or can work on facilitating a reflective approach to your work as would be explored in clinical supervision. 

This service is provided at comfortable therapy rooms less than a minute walk from Chancery Lane underground station. The fee for this service is £120 for a 50 minute session. I can offer a reduction for those on lower incomes.

Please note that for this work I have a waiver from the BSB meaning that I have no obligation to report misconduct under rule C66.

Therapy room with two chairs facing each other and a desk to one side with a lamp to the other. In the background there is a leaded window and trees

Wellbeing in the legal profession

This is not always an easy profession to work in, and if you are feeling that you need support, you are not the only one feeling that way. Whilst lawyers can have incredibly satisfying, rewarding and interesting careers, it often comes at a cost.

The legal profession is increasingly becoming collectively aware of what the International Bar Association has called a global well being crisis amongst lawyers. For example around one third of barristers have reported low levels of well being and a similar number reported they weren’t coping well with their workloads. In the solicitors’ profession, 48% respondents to the survey by the Junior Lawyers’ Division of the Law Society had experienced a recent problem with their mental health. As well as high workloads and difficult working cultures, some lawyers are also regularly exposed to clients’ accounts of traumatic events. All of this leads to higher risks of burnout, stress, vicarious trauma, problematic substance use and difficulties with relationships.

Consulting, training and group facilitation

In addition to providing therapy sessions for lawyers I am also available to consult, to write, to speak at events or to deliver training . I have done this previously for a range of organisations including regulators, professional institutions and networks, and statutory bodies in the UK and elsewhere. This can be on a one-off or regular basis. 

Whilst any work of this type is developed according to your requirements topics might include:


Academic practice and research

I have published research on the experiences of LGBTQ+ barristers and on the regulation and ethics of barristers generally. My current research looks at the ways in which solicitors benefit from clinical supervision, and also at the psychodynamics of the lawyer-client relationship. I deliver an innovative module on the Psychology of Legal Practice at the Unviersity of Westminster. I also welcome contact from prospective PhD students in this field. 

Location

Therapy can be delivered entirely in person or online, and I’m also happy to offer a combination of the two for your convienience. My therapy room is in Holborn, just outside of Chancery Lane underground station. 

Please note I also have a therapy room in Dalston, Hackney, in case this is more convenient.