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Basic compassion - No special training required
TOBY SAMSON
Contributor
On February 14, I had the opportunity to sit
down with the other Student Project Leads and
Coordinators for the Ontario Law Student Mental
Health Initiative (OLSMHI, for now). Every
Ontario law school, including Lakehead, had a
representative there. We had a lot to discuss over
the course of the day, including the results of the
survey that some of you were kind enough to fill
out. From the survey and from anecdotal experience, the group identified a number of different
problems. One specific barrier to better law student mental health that emerged was that students
are reluctant to access services when they have
had unhelpful encounters with Administration or
other staff members. In some cases, it seems even
well intentioned people are missing the mark and
turning students off from seeking resources in the
future.
In response to this problem, OLSMHI has
started to speak with Administration and others
about how they see their own abilities to support
students who approach them. So far, one theme in
the feedback we have received is that many people
with whom law students interact do not feel that
they have the appropriate training to respond to
the stresses that students have. Depending on the
situation for a student, going through the Administration might not be a choice. For this reason,
the Administration and other staff have an obligation to be as supportive of students as possible,
regardless of training. It is here that I see a disconnect. “As possible” does not mean “as a trained
counselor.” It means “as possible.” Many people
seem to forget that, even if you are not an expert
in the field, being a decent human being is never
going to hurt, and will often help a bit.
Although it came up in that context, this problem is not unique to the Administration. Sure, for
some individuals “not having the training” may
be an excuse, and for some it may be that they
are a little too worried about liability. But, many
of us have fellow law students that we support,
some even through more formal relationships like
the Mentorship Program and could benefit from
checking ourselves for the same impulse. It is
easy to think “I don’t really know what I’m doing,
what good could I possibly do talking with this
person?” However, I’m concerned because, on a
stressful day, that can easily become “I couldn’t
help this person if I wanted to, so I’m not really
going to try,” and that attitude will almost certainly do harm.
I’m not suggesting that we should pretend
that we are able to take on roles for which we’re
unqualified and potentially ill suited, but we
shouldn’t need training to be a little compassionate. When someone is reaching out, it is essential
that he/she keep momentum, even if that means
changing directions. Don’t be a roadblock. That
said, it