Toward Well Being

Join D.C. Bar LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and guests Jessie Joachim and Sharon Greenbaum LAP Senior Counselors, for a discussion about the many ways the DC Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program can support Bar members, judges and law students in the District. Learn more and register for free for this year's D.C. Bar Well-Being Summit HERE.https://www.dcbar.org/for-lawyers/communities/annual-well-being-summit

Join LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and guests Colleen Brisport-Sequeda, lawyer, yoga and meditation teacher and Eric Webber, Senior Behavioral Health Therapist and Legal Professionals Program Coordinator for Caron Treatment Center. Today’s podcast explores well-being benefits of finding camaraderie and connection in a Third Place. www.meditationinformedmeditationmim.com

Join LAP associate director Denise Perme and Lawyer Assistance Committee member Daffney Dennis in a discussion about the changes 2025 brought to the federal sector and how federal attorneys can focus on self-care as they navigate career challenges.

When the world changes and you’re still standing, it can be hard to know what to do with that truth. Join D.C. Bar LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and Senior Counselor Jessie Joachim, LPC, as they explore survivor’s guilt —what it is, how it shows up, and how to move through it with care and compassion.

Join LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and guests Dr. Neil Puri, medical director in the outpatient division at The Menninger Clinic and assistant professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, and Dr. Myrtle Karam Jeroudi, neurologist, sleep medicine physician and assistant professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine. Today’s podcast explores the current efficacy and latest advances in both transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) for sleep disorders and mental health care.To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, Lawyer Assistance Committee (LAC) member Curtis Rooney, and LAC volunteers Sam Sloane and Benita Talati, for a discussion about the health benefits of having one or more hobbies.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and guest Lyssa Barth, LICSW Owner & Clinical Director of Barth Therapy, for a discussion about how anxiety shows up in the lives of lawyers—especially those navigating identity-based stressors and systemic challenges. Barth Therapy provides comprehensive psychological and consulting services, proudly serving LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities in the greater DMV area.Learn more and register for free for this year's D.C. Bar Well-Being Summit HERE.To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here.Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.https://www.barththerapy.com/

Join LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and guests Danielle Hart, assistant general counsel at Lockheed Martin and ceo & founder of Mindful Esquire, LLC; Ana Moesta, D.C. Bar LAP volunteer and contract negotiator at CDW, and Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., founder of Lawyers Life Coach, LLC, for a discussion about the past and current challenges confronted by women in the legal profession.About Mindful Esq. LLCMindful Esq. LLC is a pioneering consultancy dedicated to transforming the legal profession by integrating mindfulness and wellness practices into the demanding lives of attorneys. Founded by Danielle Hart, an experienced attorney and mindfulness practitioner, Mindful Esq. offers tailored workshops and corporate training designed to help legal professionals manage stress, enhance focus, and improve overall well-being—with techniques that are both practical and sustainable.As a practicing attorney, Danielle understands the high-pressure demands of the legal profession firsthand. She curates mindfulness strategies specifically for attorneys, offering accessible tools that fit within the fast-paced nature of legal work. Through guided mindfulness exercises, stress management strategies, and mindful negotiation approaches, Mindful Esq. bridges the gap between professional excellence and personal well-being—empowering attorneys to thrive, not just survive.To learn more about how mindfulness can support you or your organization, visit www.mindfulesq.com or email Danielle at [email protected]

Join LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and practicing attorney and LAP volunteer Julie Soininen, for a conversation about how alcohol use disorders can negatively impact a lawyer’s ability to practice.To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish, LICSW, and guest  Dr. Sonia Juneja of Washington Family Psychiatry, as they explore Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Discover the symptoms, misconceptions, and effective treatment options for SAD, and learn how it impacts daily life and professional standards.   Resources: NIMH Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): More Than the Winter Blues An Honest Conversation About Disconnecting and Reclaiming Your Time To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and D.C. Superior Court Senior judges Russell Canan and Hiram Puig-Lugo for a discussion about how judges can fight isolation, make connections, and manage stress. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and well-being facilitators Elizabeth Pyjov and Jennie Malloy for a discussion how to become more self-compassionate, and why being kinder to yourself is good for your law career. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and guests Nicole Lucas and Nancy Martell-Stevenson, from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), for a discussion of how NAMI volunteers with lived experience raise awareness and support families of those with mental health conditions. Learn more and register for free for this year's D.C. Bar Well-Being Summit HERE. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and guests Sarah Endres, Northern Virginia Region Manager for the Virginia Judicial and Lawyers Assistance Program, and Jessie Joachim, Senior Counselor with the DC Bar Lawyer Assistance Program, as they explore what is behind perfectionism and ways to overcome it. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme and guest Michelle Cotter Richards, a therapist and former lawyer, for a discussion about ways lawyers can connect to their emotions to improve well-being and manage stress. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, ⁠click here⁠. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, and guests Kristina Mereigh, Director of Global Well-Being for Covington & Burling, and Jacquesline Walker, clinical psychotherapist and founder of The Well Firm, for a discussion about the challenges to well-being faced by Black, Indigenous and people of color in the legal profession. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and guests Caleb Kruckenberg, a litigator and D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee member, and Dr. Rebecca Smith-Casey, a licensed psychologist, J.D., and founder of River Valley Psycholegal Consulting, as they explore how using ACT ( Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to identify feelings can help attorneys navigate the complex demands of the practice of law.   Additional Resources:  The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris and free ACT resources To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, and guest Steven Wall, Managing Partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, for a discussion about the role and responsibility that leaders in the legal profession have to model and inspire well-being in their workplaces by being authentically open about their own wellness challenges. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, and guests Tara Antonipillai, D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee Chair and founder of Cultivate, and Martha Knudson, Executive Director of the Utah State Bar Well-Being Committee, for a discussion about promising wellness practices for individual lawyers and new approaches to address well-being in the legal profession. From Well-Being Week in Law to the D.C. Bar annual Wellness Summit, the effort to raise awareness and bring resources to lawyers is going strong. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish,  Nicole Lucas, Director of Programs at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Scottie Carter, an independent DEI consultant, as they discuss the relationship between DEI and mental health in the workplace and how to shift from seeing it as an individual responsibility to a collective priority. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join D.C. Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, and guest Kathleen Sebek, Associate Director of Client Services with Haven of Northern Virginia, a volunteer grief support service. Today’s podcast covers the normal human process of grieving and the bereavement tasks that are helpful to work through following a loss. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join DC Bar LAP Associate Director Denise Perme, and LAP Senior Counselors Jessie Joachim and Sharon Greenbaum as we look at the challenge of finding available mental health resources today, and how LAP services help provide access to care. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP associate director Denise Perme, and healthcare lobbyist and Lawyer Assistance Committee member Curtis Rooney as we explore the health benefits of building connections in a community. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP Outreach and Education Coordinator Niki Irish and D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee member Bisa Cunningham as they explore what it means to maintain wellbeing as a leader, both for yourself and your employees. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors. Resources: Dare to Lead podcast with Brené Brown The John Maxwell Leadership podcast Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski, D.M.A.

Join LAP associate director Denise Perme and neuroscience educator and comedian Dr. Matt Bellace as we explore ways to take action to alleviate loneliness, accept disappointments and keep moving toward your goals. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

The pandemic continues to have a profound impact on our mental, physical and emotional health. Resources focused on our well-being have never mattered more.  The D.C. Bar Communities Office and the Lawyer Assistance Program are again offering our Spring Wellness Fair as a resource for anyone who wants to focus on wellbeing and learn new strategies to lower stress. Denise Perme and Niki Irish from the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program discuss the LAP as well as give a preview into the scheduled programming for the Spring Wellness Fair on April 7, 2022.  Register and learn more about this free event HERE. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP associate director Denise Perme, Dr. Ellen Ostrow, founding principal of Lawyers Life Coach LLC and Rashida MacMurray-Abdullah, Chief Diversity Officer at Wiley, as they discuss the intersectionality of DEI and well-being programs, and the increased need for legal employers to consider the experiences of underrepresented racial and ethnic communities in promoting well-being. Join us for a day of professional and personal renewal on April 7 for the 2022 Spring Wellness Fair! Register for free at https://dcbar.inreachce.com/Details/Information/e4f08a5e-aa92-46a1-9f76-0fc7ab318c28  To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Join LAP associate director Denise Perme and D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee member Dick Flynt as they explore what it means to be humble, why humility is challenging for lawyers, and how increasing our level of humility can lead to a greater sense of connectedness and well-being. To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

Compassion fatigue often affects those in helping professions – lawyers are no exception. Long hours, heavy caseloads, and needy clients can cause emotional exhaustion and empathy overload. Join host Niki Irish and Lawyer Assistance Committee member Bonnie Prober, a lawyer and clinical social worker, as they explore the toll of compassion fatigue and discuss ways to address it. Related Resources: Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others Professional Quality of Life assessment tool Low impact debriefing To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar or its Board of Governors.

In the inaugural episode of Toward Well Being, Niki Irish and Denise Perme of the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program discuss lawyer well-being, and the benefits and limits of wellness education for legal employers. Related Resources: Practicing Law In the Pandemic and Moving Forward The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change Study on Lawyer Impairment: The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys Stress, drink, leave: An examination of gender-specific risk factors for mental health problems and attrition among licensed attorneys To learn more about how the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program can help, click here. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.

Join us for candid conversations as we seek solutions to the well-being challenges faced by the legal community. Hosted by Niki Irish, LICSW, from the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program. Subscribe to Toward Well Being at anchor.fm/dcbarLAP. To learn more about the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program, visit www.dcbar.org/for-lawyers/lawyer-assistance-program or email [email protected].