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Highlights Newsletter Archive
ABA CoLAP

Spring 1996

Table of Contents

National Workshop For Lawyer Assistance Programs

Six months left until the kick-off for the 9th National Workshop for Lawyer Assistance Programs in beautiful Bal Harbour, Florida. See the special insert that shows the current schedule with a registration form printed on the reverse side. This year, for the first time, the National Workshop on Lawyer Assistance Programs will present a special program for bar leaders and members of the judiciary. It will provide information on the actual operation of lawyer assistance programs (which can vary from state to state), on how you can best utilize the resources offered by your LAP in light of recent regulatory decisions, issues raised by managed care and adequate and appropriate treatment, wellness programs, return to work after treatment issues, and confidentiality, monitoring, and drug testing. This special session is scheduled for Monday, September 30 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm and will be followed by a reception and dinner. Experts in the fields of addictions, stress and depression will speak, including Dr. Joseph A. Pursch, who, since 1980, has treated numerous public figures, celebrities and professional athletes. Dr. Pursch is a sought-after expert on chemical dependency, conducting seminars and lectures worldwide, and appearing on several television programs including: 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Good Morning, America and The Phil Donahue Show. Dr. Pursch is just one of many outstanding speakers who will be appearing at the workshop for the first time.

Space is filling up for our exhibitors. We limit the number of treatment center sponsors in order to allow time for sharing information about services available from the exhibitors and the needs of our registrants. To date we have nine confirmed sponsors: Betty Ford Center, Hazelden, Rush Behavioral Health Center, COPAC, Del Amo Hospital, The Willough at Naples, Willingway Hospital, Talbott Marsh Recovery Center and Timberlawn Mental Health System. We have room for six more. If there is a treatment center in your area that you would like to participate, please have them contact Donna Spilis (312/988-5359) or Gerri Sandner (312/988-5312). The fee is $1,500.

The Sheraton Bal Harbour is a fabulous hotel and definitely a place to bring your family. There are four pools, a water slide, ping pong, water sports, tennis, golf and organized children's activities (half or full day programs). On one side there is the ocean and on the other side, the Bal Harbour Shops (Chanel, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Cartier, Fendi, Neiman Marcus, Saks, etc.) - all within a few steps of the hotel. The Sheraton is equidistant from the Miami International and Ft. Lauderdale Airports.

Women & Mental Heath Resource List on the World Wide Web

The ABA Division for Bar Services has compiled a listing of WWW Unified Resource Locator's (URL) that may be useful to LAPs and individuals who are interested in using the Web to gather substantive information regarding women and mental health.

This bibliography does not attempt to list every site available pertaining to women and mental health. It is the goal of this paper to point clients to important web sites that will provide you with the desired information. Links to over 1,000 sites are provided through the below resources. Note that the WWW is in constant flux, URLs can change overnight, and servers are moved.

For further information, research assistance or specialized information services, contact Howard Fuller at hfuller@staff.abanet.org.

Harvard Health Publications Online:
http://www.med.harvard.edu/publications/Health_Publications/
This site contains access links to relevant publications from the Harvard Medical School. Some of the links that may be of interest include the Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Woman's Health Letter, Selected Articles from Harvard Health Publications, and Special Reports. This home page briefly describes what is contained in each publication and contact information.

Mental Health Info Link (with resources arranged by topic):
http://www.onlinepsych.com/treat/mh.htm
"This list contains over 350 links to information about various aspects of mental health. These links are organized into 25 broad topics. This site is provided as a public service by Online Psychological Services, a comprehensive information service for psychological professionals and consumers offering a full range of research and interactive technologies." Some of the relevant topics include Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Stress, Depression, Domestic Violence, Gender Issues, Marriage and Relationships, Parenting, and Sexual Abuse. Many of these sites specifically address Woman's issues and mental health.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] Center for Mental Health Services [CMMS]
http://www.samhsa.gov/cmhs/cmhs.htm
SAMHSA's web site contains information of various programs offered through this agency. The stated mission of SAMHSA is to "demonstrate, evaluate, and disseminate service delivery models to treat mental illness, promote mental health and prevent the development or worsening of mental illness when possible." Links are provided to specific programs administered through this agency including those affecting women.

Women and Mental Health [MIND]
http://www2.shef.ac.uk/info_studies/mind/women.html
MIND's home page presents three papers. The first of these papers "sets out the successes of the Stress on Women campaign and warns that women must be given greater protection against sexual abuse and harassment in mental health settings." MIND also presents a pol icy paper on women and mental health. "This policy paper addresses both issues affecting women in general: safety, women and children, self-harm, depression, etc., as well as specific issues affecting particular groups of women: carers, black and ethnic minority women, women with disabilities, etc. The paper ends with a nine point plan for good practice." The last link presents "Facts, figures and quotes to illustrate the imbalance of power and abuse which many women experience in their encounters with mental health professionals."

Women and Mental Health: Issues for Health Reform
http://www.cmwf.org./mentlbrf.html
This site is an executive summary of a research project undertaken by The Commonwealth Fund (New York). The paper "summarizes the available data on the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders in women, their use of mental health services, and the treatment they receive."

A Woman's Mental Health Agenda
http://www.apa.org/books/womens.html
This site list publications available from the American Psychological Association including those pertaining to Woman's mental health.

Yahoo - Health : Mental Health
http://www.yahoo.com/Health/Mental_Health
Yahoo's Mental Health allows you to search all of Yahoo's mental health web sites. Yahoo divides mental health into eleven broad categories including: Arts Therapy, Biofeedback, Conferences, Counseling, Diseases and Conditions, Institutes, Organizations, policy, Practitioners, Psychiatry, and Psychology. Many of these categories have specific information on women.

Some of the specific links contained within Yahoo include: "help! A Consumer's Guide to Mental Health Information - This is a brief FAQ designed by a consumer of mental health services." "Layperson's Guide to Psychotherapeutic Drugs - An introduction to common medications used in therapy" and "Mental health InfoSource - Contains information on mental illness and the advances being made in its treatment and prevention."

WHO'S ONLINE?

Telecommunications are accelerating for the Commission's Internet Committee, chaired by Michael Cohen of Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. Lawyers and other professionals "surfing the Web" are sending messages via the airwaves because they are reading about the work of the Commission and other LAPs on their respective Homepages. The Commission's Homepage includes selections from Highlights.

The following is a list of interested online communicators:

AROUND THE LAPS

Note from Donna Spilis: Many thanks to the LAPs that send information for inclusion in this section of "Highlights," and also to the ABA Division for Bar Services, whose staff regularly send clips related to the work of LAPs from state and local bar association journals and newsletters.

British Columbia
The Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia is looking for a new program coordinator to replace our friend, Russ MacKay. Russ will be returning to the practice of law on a full-time basis the end of June. The coordinator position is currently part-time (approximately 25 hours per week). The duties include fielding, evaluating and referring telephone calls; writing articles about addictions, stress and the LAP; speaking on same; keeping and reporting statistics on LAP usage; organizing interventions; managing LAP finances; and travelling within and outside the Province. The applicant should be familiar with peer support, LAPs, 12-step programs and a thorough knowledge of the legal profession in B.C. If you are interested, send your resume to LAP Board of Directors, 1793 - 808 Nelson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2H2.

California
The award winning Marriott's Laguna Cliffs Resort is the site for the Ninth Annual Spring Networking Meeting of The Other Bar. If you have never attended this annual weekend retreat of Fun, Fellowship, Serenity and Recovery, mark it on your calendar for this year, April 19-21. For registration information, contact Wendy S. at 310/826-2998. The ABA Commission on Impaired Attorneys will be sponsoring a Regional LAP Director Meeting at the same facility on Friday, April 19 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Invitations have been sent to the Pacific and West Regions, however, it is open to all states. For more information, contact Marty Roof (714-541-2775), Briggs Cheney (505-247-0411) or Donna Spilis (312-988-5359).

Colorado
The Docket, published by the Denver Bar Association, recently included an article entitled "A Bad Combination: Doing Drugs and the Law? Here's Hope." It was a story of two attorneys who used cocaine and the support they received from the Colorado Lawyers Health Program. "Personal story articles and special issues of journals devoted to addictions and stress definitely generate calls to your program," says Mike Crowley, Chair, ABA Commission on Impaired Attorneys.

Illinois
Lawyers Assistance Program, Inc. of Illinois is planning two peer counseling training sessions this summer as a follow up for those who have been through the intervention training programs. A questionnaire was sent to all intervenors in an effort to better understand the skills of its volunteers. Copies of the questionnaire and information on the training sessions are available from Illinois LAP Director, Leon Schrauben (312/922-7332) or Gerri Sandner (312/988-5359).

North Carolina
The PALS program of the North Carolina State Bar received a rave review in The Bencher Vol. X, No. 4, January/February 1996, the newsletter of the American Inns of Court. In his remarks to the North Carolina Supreme Court, Chief Justice Burley B. Mitchell, Jr. said, "I suggest that the Inns of Court consider modeling our efforts to reach each other on the very successful Positive Actions for Lawyers (Pals) program through which the North Carolina State Bar has reached and saved so many alcoholic and drug addicted lawyers and judges. This has been the most successful and worthwhile program the North Carolina Bar has ever undertaken. It protects the public from the impaired practitioner, while at the same time demonstrably saving legal practices, saving families and saving human lives. Our Inns of Court should apply the same principles of human concern, compassion, and, yes, love demonstrated by the PALS volunteers." Thanks to Jim Heiting of Riverside, California for sending the article.

North & South Carolina
The South Carolina Bar's Lawyers Concerned about Lawyers Committee (LCAL), the North Carolina State Bar's Professional Assistance for Lawyers Committee (PALS), and the Meclenburg County Bar Association sponsored a successful seminar entitled "Secrets They Never Told You in Law School - Substance Abuse, Depression and the Practice of Law." This co-sponsored event had interesting and knowledgeable speakers and drew attendees from Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas and Illinois. The session on depression included a lawyer who described the effect of depression on his practice and personal life. This is an area into which many of the LAPs are expanding their services because of the number of lawyers recognizing the symptoms and facing the problem. Following the program, there was a meeting of LAP directors and members, led by John Rogers Carroll of the ABA Commission on Impaired Attorneys. At this meeting, the LAPs shared information on their monitoring programs, concerns and successes.

Ohio
The Ohio Lawyer's Assistance Program will hold its annual retreat/seminar at Shepherd Hill Hospital in Newark, Ohio on Saturday, April 27, 1996. Charles W. Kettlewell, a Columbus attorney specializing in attorney discipline cases and a former President of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL), will review "Recent Developments in Ethical Problems." Luceille Fleming, the Director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services will also speak.

Oregon
This spring, the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program will sponsor two seminars in Portland: 101 Things You Can Do With Your Law Degree (April 12) and Avoiding Legal Malpractice and Ethical Violations (June 6, 1996). For registration information, contact Linda D'Agostino (503/639-6911).

Virginia
The Substance Abuse Committee of the Virginia Bar Association established an award in 1994 to recognize outstanding service to the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Program. The award, which is a sculpture of one lawyer reaching out to another, was named the James R. Treese Award in 1995 in honor of its first recipient, Jim Treese, who died of cancer in December 1994. The words inscribed on the award are: "This award, presented by the Virginia Bar Association Substance Abuse Committee, honors our friend Jim Treese for his selfless dedication and leadership in sustaining the Lawyers Helping Lawyers mission to address and overcome the many difficulties caused by substance abuse within the legal profession." The 1995 award recipient was E. Eugene of Annandale, Virginia, a founding member of the LHL Program and the first chair of the Substance Abuse Committee.

In the Fairfax Bar Journal, Chief Justice Harry Carrico reiterated his wholehearted support of Virginia's Lawyers Helping Lawyers Program by encouraging all lawyers in the State to attend the First Annual Lawyers Helping Lawyers Conference. In 1989, Justice Carrico had written a letter to the legal profession commending the program for its role in assisting troubled lawyers. This support from the chief justice has been beneficial to the success of the program. For those of you who have received the new 1995-96 Directory of Lawyer Assistance Programs, the 24-hour helpline number for the Virginia Program is incorrect. It should be 800/838-8358. The phone number for the Program Director, Susan Pauley is 804/644-0041. Please note these changes in your directory. The directory is available for $20.00 by calling Gerri Sandner at 312/988-5312. Every program director should have this Directory.

HELLO! ARE YOU OUT THERE?

In the last two issues of Highlights a notice appeared soliciting names and topics for the Commission's Speakers Bureau. To date, Marty Roof and Ed Blewer have had one response total. We need your input to make this work. Send Marty Roof (Suite 209, 2107 North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92706) or Ed Blewer (P. O. Box 22260, Shreveport, LA 71120-2260) the name, address and telephone number of any addiction, stress and/or depression speakers, along with a brief summary of their presentation(s) as soon as possible.

Updated: 10/3/2006

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