Obviously, “therapy for lawyers” is the same as therapy for everyone else. Except that there are some things that aren't totally intuitive to non-lawyers. For example, there is an upside to the billable hour: as long as we make those hours, we can make them on whatever schedule we want. (The downside, of course, is that there are no off-hours.) For another example, when we are stressed and complain about our job, it isn’t really helpful when people tell us, “Why don’t you just quit?” As though we live in such a vacuum that we didn’t know just not doing it anymore was an option.
There are many reasons we don’t just quit. Sometimes we like the work. Sometimes we even like the people we work with. Sometimes we like the people we work with so much we follow them from firm to firm. Does that sound like the kind of job we want to leave behind entirely?
But if we don’t want out, then what is it that we want? Or what if we do want out but we are so isolated that we can’t even imagine what else we could do? I myself have used the phrase, “I have no other skill set,” many times. Self-deprecating humor is a wonderful coping mechanism. As is sarcasm. (Sound familiar, anyone?)
This is where therapy can help. Therapy can offer you an empathetic yet objective reflection to help you sort through the many different aspects that contribute to your specific situation. On the one hand, there can be insights that will help you decide what is really important for you. And on the other hand, there are techniques you can learn to deemphasize the negatives so you can keep what you like about your job and your life while reducing the rest.
Stay tuned for myths and misunderstandings that get in the way of finding the right kind of help.