Training for Lawyers
Experienced Mental Health Training to the Legal Community
Hermance Associates provides educational services for attorneys, law firm staff members and support staff to help identify common mental health and substance use issues in existing clients or potential new clients. Hermance Associates founder, Travis Hermance, has extensive experience in leading training sessions for the legal community. He has addressed the Rhode Island Bar Association as a featured speaker on the subject of clients in crisis. Additionally, Travis has provided small group and individualized trainings on the subjects of suicide and homicide among clients. He teaches and trains about the warning signs to look out for in cases that have particular financial/family stressors occurring both during the legal process and after a disappointing settlement or outcome.
Hermance Associates’ consulting services and training programs are offered to individuals, small or large groups in time segments of one-hour, two-hour or three-hour sessions.
Mental Health and Substance Use in the Legal System
Legal capacity is what behavioral health professionals determine while legal competency is what a judge will decide often based on a health professionals opinion and recommendation. Let us help your firm navigate this delicate process.
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders identifies common behavioral health disorders such as dementia, psychotic disorders (schizophrenia and bipolar illness among the most common), depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and substance use issues. Recognizing a client in crisis or suffering with emotional or psychological problems forces a legal team to not only offer sound legal advice but, become and ally and get the client the necessary treatment services.
Current Mental Health Statistics and Trends every Law Firm Should Know
According to the American Psychological Association, nearly one in five American adults suffers from mental illness at some point, with nearly ten million adults experiencing serious mental illnesses that interfere with daily life. This means that, sooner or later, most lawyers will encounter a client with some sort of mental illness or impairment. A client’s mental health and cognitive impairment matter at every stage of the lawyer client relationship, from the first meeting to case strategizing to the plea/trial decision to the sentencing process and beyond.
In a recent 2016 article from the Justice Programs Office at American University and statistics provided by the Bureau of Justice, 64% of individuals in county jails and 56% of those in state prisons were characterized as having ‘mental health problems’; 76% in county jails and 74% in state prisons met the criteria for substance abuse disorders; 75% of females in county jails and 73% in state prisons reported mental health problems; 66% of prisoners and 40% of jail inmates with a current chronic condition reported taking prescription medication. Recent estimates calculate that 40% of inmates at Rikers Island (the main New York City jail) have some sort of mental illness. Of those in prisons, the American Psychiatric Association has estimated that 20% were seriously mentally ill. Also, we know that persons with intellectual disabilities represent 4% to 10% of the prison population, with an even greater number of those in juvenile facilities and in jails.
Client in Crisis: What is your Responsibility?
Lawyers may encounter clients with many different kinds of psychiatric and substance use issues and will be better equipped to appropriately help their clients if, along with their support staff, they understand more about behavioral health issues. How a client's mental illness impacts your representation will vary based on the nature and extent of the illness and the professional and ethical requirements of your jurisdiction. For instance, the implications would be much different if the divorcing father you represented had untreated schizophrenia as opposed to a substance use disorder.
“Your presentation was very helpful for my legal team…your delivery was direct and informative.” Attorney/Founder, a premier Social Security law firm.
Hermance Associates provides the necessary training to identify a client that suffers from a mental health illness or an addiction that may result in competency issues in a courtroom. Equally important is guarding your practice from clients that don’t fit your professional parameters and providing local resources for referral purposes. Our training programs will help your law firm personnel navigate and balance the issues of mental illness and substance use along with confidentiality, disciplinary rules and balance common sense and professional responsibility.
For more information about our training click here.