The blurred line between legal and therapeutic practices
Here, we look at how Family practitioners can work effectively with therapists to ensure clients receive the correct support.
Being a Family practitioner can sometimes feel like a balancing act. Our responsibility is to primarily take our client’s instructions, offer legal advice and guidance, listen carefully, and act as instructed. This is often accomplished smoothly however our clients can be highly emotional and we may be one of the only, if not the only, person that they have opened-up to about their situation. In turn, consultations can unfold unpredictably. Practitioners can receive instructions from a place of heartbreak and betrayal to more severe and shocking events and may find their client has been through a great deal without any therapeutic support.
We must be emphatically present, and at the same time maintain healthy, appropriate boundaries. We can consider the Law Society’s Principles and Code of Conduct and think carefully about our client’s capacity and whether they may be under duress. These instances are rare but important to look out for and Practice Direction - Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Clients dated 2nd July 2015 is very helpful when a client presents with charged and sensitive circumstances.
Practitioners are exposed to a range of heartfelt experiences, sometimes daily, and must foster the awareness that we are legal advisors and not therapists. To maintain the delicate balance between advising and overstepping, how do we recognise the metaphorical line and what can we learn from therapists that we work with and what can they take from us?
We must skillfully interweave periods of high emotion, juggle attempted retaliations and steer clients away from entrenched grievances that serve no useful purpose in progressing their case. It is often a non-linear process that may shift and resolve itself in unexpected ways depending on the client’s mental wellbeing and emotional independence. Encouraging the client to engage with counselling or therapy from an early stage is key and we should look out for signs from the first consultation.
The role of family practitioners is to guide and lead. We work closely with our clients; we bond with them and we care. Quick-fire instructions from clients or late-night emails that do not always align with the client’s prior approach to the matter are not the only red flags that emotions are running high. Clients will ask to have our viewpoint on an emotional situation. We can be put on the spot but must be legally specific, sympathetic, and self-aware all at once. The underlying question therefore is, what is the best way to professionally support a client in crisis? Also, and importantly, how can we as practitioners protect our own mental health, promote healthy boundaries, and thrive professionally when working on challenging cases?
Renowned therapist, wellbeing master coach and Resolution member Caroline D’ay offers the following words of advice,
“People going through a divorce are likely to exhibit some level of emotion; it’s quite normal for an event that has thrown their whole life into disarray. Even when divorce means being released from a difficult situation, it would be unusual for there to be no emotion at all. Where it becomes difficult is when you are suddenly faced with floods of tears, huge levels of anger or swathes of guilt or anxiety! This reaction is nothing to do with anything you said or did but it is an indication of an underlying trauma which is triggering the behaviour, such as fear of abandonment or anger makes me powerful. Your client will be unaware of this.
The problem is that, as a Solicitor, you are there to apply legal process and client care but you can’t easily do that when your client is distraught. Being confronted with rampant emotions can also take a personal toll on you. This is the time to consider using a therapist alongside the work you’re doing.
It’s all a question of focus. What you really need, is for the unhelpful emotions to be released in a way that allows your client to give you clear instructions upon which you can act. A Therapist can do that for your client. It’s all about enabling your client to get the best outcome from their time with you and not about sorting out their mental health for the rest of their life.
A distraught divorcee is extremely fragile and they’re in danger of making bad decisions. Personally, when faced with a severe emotional response, I first use my Trauma/PTSD techniques to bring them back into balance. After that a mix of Counselling and Coaching empowers them to become fully functioning clients that you can work with, and it doesn’t need to take long either.
High running emotions get in the way of so many legal matters. Having a therapist to call on when necessary means you and the client can be released from these upsetting encounters. Once the emotions have lost their power, you can be free to do for your clients what you do best.”
In Summary…
There is no scenario that is clear cut for practitioners. The key issue is to remember not to try or feel that we should, improve the mental or emotional health of our clients. We simply are not trained to do so but we can work closely with therapists to achieve this. We can remind clients that they are on a path toward resolution, and whilst we can compassionately support them and encourage trust in the legal process, information on therapeutic support should be offered. We must also take steps to ensure that as practitioners we recognise that we too are humans with emotional needs, in different quantities, so it is vital that we are not compared or isolated and have a strong support network in place to talk, adapt and build resilience.
elaine@arthurs-solicitors.co.uk
carolineday@wellbeingdynamics.com
Resolution, The Review Issue 207 p. 18-19