2024 Secondary trauma: When helping hurts

Sponsored by the Standing Committee on Well-being in the Profession

This program will address how a lawyer's work with clients who are experiencing trauma impacts the lawyer as well. The impact of trauma can impair a lawyer's ability to fully comply with their obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct as well as impact personal health and well-being. We will focus on understanding how to identify signs of secondary trauma and offer tools to help resolve the effects.
Focus points of the presentation:

• Attendees will learn what trauma is and how the brain is affected by exposure to trauma.
• Attendees will learn what the brain's responses to trauma can be; what responses we can control and which ones we can't.
• Attendees will understand how the brain's trauma response relates to their work as an attorney in particular.
• Attendees will take away tools to help them alleviate the impact of secondary trauma on their practice and on their personal life.

Speaker: Katherine Wessling, Crime Victim Center--Legal Rep. Program, St. Louis

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.