May 25, 2023
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern
Mental Health: "In This Together" - Well-Being Practices for Lawyers
Since 2016 the ABA and the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs has heightened focus on Lawyer Well-Being. Often neglected in general “wellness” programs, “well-being” represents not only mental and emotional health, but life satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment. This presentation explores some of the elements that boost well-being, including Zen and how to incorporate it, as well as a review of habits and practices recommended in the ABA activities workbook published in The Lawyer Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Law Firms.
Speaker: Noreen Braman
Noreen Braman, a certified laughter wellness instructor, has shared customized well-being programs and workshops with lawyers, dentists, mediators, caregivers, government communicators, and other professionals looking to boost their resilience. She studied Psychology of Laughter at Rutgers University, Science of Happiness through The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and is a member of Association for Applied & Therapeutic Humor (AATH) Her expertise covers not only learning to laugh for the health of it, but also other well-being habits that boost resilience. Her quick well-being tips appear on 30seconds.com and Medium. Noreen is also an instructor at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers University, Strategic Communications Manager for the NJ Lawyer Assistance Program, and has shared her well-being messages to groups nationwide.
Paula Garra Sawyer, Esq., R.N., B.S.N. was Senior Attorney Counselor with the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program (NJLAP), where she combined her nursing background in addictions with her legal experiences. In addition to working with clients, she assisted in developing relevant legal and substance abuse education programs and facilitated the Women Attorney Peer Counselor group.
Ms. Sawyer is admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the American, New Jersey State, and Monmouth County Bar Associations. She serves as a volunteer on the Monmouth County Bar Association’s General Welfare of the Membership Committee. She co-founded the National Association of Perinatal Addiction Specialists (NAPAS), which provides training, education and certification to nurses and other professionals working with pregnant addicts. She participated in extensive continuing education in alcohol and other substance use addictions at the Rutgers School of Alcohol Studies. She also served as Deputy Attorney General representing the Division of Youth and Family Services, and was an Assistant Prosecutor in Union County. Ms. Sawyer received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, and her Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University Law School, Newark, New Jersey.