Florida Bar News – Mindfulness and Secondary Trauma

The role mindfulness practices can play in fostering stability and wellbeing in a profession that often engages with clients immersed in conflict and trauma

The practice of law is a noble profession. One of the hallmarks of this nobility is the willingness of legal professionals to help clients navigate conflicts that often take a significant toll on their lives — their sense of safety, well-being, relationships, and even their freedom. As national, state, and local bar associations, law schools, legal organizations, and law firms increasingly prioritize mental health, more attention is being given to the psychological impact legal work can have — particularly the risk of secondary trauma that can arise from working closely with clients facing intense and often traumatic circumstances.

To gain deeper insight into this complex and emotionally demanding terrain, I reached out to law professor Rosario Lozada, who serves on The Florida Bar’s Mental Health and Wellness Committee. Below are several questions she answered, offering valuable perspectives on secondary trauma and the role mindfulness practices can play in fostering stability and wellbeing in a profession that often engages with clients immersed in conflict and trauma.

What is secondary trauma?

Professionals may experience secondary trauma, also referred to as compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma, when they are exposed to the traumatic experiences of others. Over time, repeated exposure can lead professionals to have to a trauma response of their own, affecting them physically, psychologically, and emotionally. This phenomenon is known as secondary trauma.

We know firsthand that we are not immune to another person’s experience. Consider, for example, how we respond to the joy and good news of those around us: a baby speaks her first word, a close friend gets engaged, a sibling finishes a marathon, or a colleague recovers from a serious illness. In each instance, we may feel happiness, relief, excitement, pleasure, awe, energy, optimism, and hope — all of which can positively influence our outlook, reduce our stress, and shape how we handle everyday challenges.

The flip side — less frequently acknowledged — is that the pain and distress of others can also deeply affect us. We are not immune to another person’s suffering. Professionals in helping roles — such as first responders, therapists, social workers, and those providing victim services — are regularly exposed to trauma and are, therefore, especially vulnerable to the effects of secondary trauma.

Are lawyers at risk for being exposed to secondary trauma and what are its consequences?  

In the past few decades, lawyers have indeed been identified as professionals who are at risk of suffering the effects of secondary trauma. Consider for a moment that people usually turn to lawyers in times of great stress or suffering. A lawyer’s clients may include individuals who have suffered a traumatic experience. Lawyers may, for example, represent victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and child abuse; victims of human trafficking; victims of other serious crimes; individuals facing possible life sentences or capital punishment; accident victims; and individuals facing deportation and possibly life-threatening consequences in their home countries, to name a few. In the course of representation, lawyers are often exposed to emotionally charged accounts of their clients’ suffering, and they may examine graphic evidence.

Lawyers are not robots. They develop relationships with their clients; they empathize with them, feel compassion for them, and wish for their well-being. As they connect with clients who have suffered trauma, lawyers will experience a range of emotional, physical, and mental responses. In some cases, they will experience the effects of a traumatic event that can resemble the effects experienced by their clients.

Such consequences may include emotional numbness, a loss of feeling, disengagement, and a growing sense of disconnection from one’s work. The demands of the job may become more difficult to meet, and the stresses of daily life harder to manage. Over time, a lawyer’s worldview may shift — becoming more negative and less hopeful. Recognizing these signs is essential not only for individual well-being but also for sustaining a healthy, productive, and ethical legal practice.

What are some of the warning signs that a person is experiencing secondary trauma stress?  

Experts in secondary trauma have identified various warning signs of secondary trauma stress, including:

• Feeling helpless and hopeless
• A sense that one can never do enough

• Hypervigilance

• Diminished creativity

• Chronic exhaustion (beyond fatigue) or chronic physical ailments

• Inability to listen or deliberate avoidance (of phone calls, e-mails, texts, or voicemails, for example)

• Guilt (at enjoying life while others are suffering)

• Fear, anger, and cynicism

• Inability to empathize or numbing

• Addiction (e.g., alcohol, drugs, food, sex, work, productivity)

A heighted sense of importance related to one’s work¹

These warning signs may strike close to home for many lawyers or people close to them and it can be helpful for lawyers to consider whether any of these warning signs apply to them.

Can practicing mindfulness play a role in helping lawyers who are suffering secondary trauma stress?  

Yes, the good news is that secondary stress is treatable and that the practice of mindfulness can serve a valuable role in helping attorneys heal.

Mindfulness refers to awareness of our present-moment experience

without judging it and without being overly reactive or overwhelmed.

Practicing mindfulness helps to develop greater awareness.  Each time we practice, we are reminded — over and over again — to be aware of our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations as we are having them, without closely identifying with them.  We learn to recognize that they are passing events.

Although by no means a cure to secondary trauma, the awareness that mindfulness practice fosters can help lawyers who are vulnerable to secondary stress in many ways.  First, mindfulness can help lawyers become aware that they may be suffering the effects of secondary trauma.  This awareness can be a critical step in motivating affected individuals to seek treatment. Second, mindfulness can help lawyers identify and regulate emotional, physical, and mental experiences before they become overwhelmed by them or numb to them. In this sense, although mindfulness does not necessarily prevent us from ever experiencing secondary stress, it helps us be attuned — rather than shut down — to our own emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. As a result, we are more likely to attend to our needs and care for ourselves before we are in crisis.

What resources can you recommend for lawyers who may be suffering the effects of secondary trauma?  

Individuals who are suffering the effects of secondary trauma are strongly encouraged to seek therapy and support. Seeking outside help can be challenging because mental health challenges and treatment have historically been stigmatized. The Florida Bar supports efforts to destigmatize mental health treatment and, in the past 10 years, the legal profession has witnessed a remarkable shift in lawyers flipping the script on the importance of being proactive in seeking help. Making that first appointment can be the most difficult step. If you can relate to this, rest assured you are not alone!  On a personal note, I’ve benefitted enormously from therapy and know many, many lawyers and judges who have done the same.

Moreover, I regularly remind my law students and colleagues that seeking help is a sign of courage, strength, and self-awareness — all essential skills for an attorney. Fortunately, the Florida Lawyers Helpline (833-351-9355) connects attorneys to professional counselors for confidential sessions; individuals may be eligible to receive five sessions at no cost. Similarly, Florida Lawyers Assistance offers free and confidential support to lawyers, judges, and even law students.  For additional resources including toolkits, articles, meditation practices and more, lawyers can visit the Florida Bar’s Mental Health and Wellness Center.

Last, speaking more generally, attorneys can take small but significant steps to prioritize self-care. We can be more mindful of boundaries we set between professional and personal time. How many of us begin our day by reaching for our phones and going into “work mode”? We can make it a point to take time for activities such as exercising, connecting with close friends, meditating, or cultivating a hobby. We can remind ourselves that we are more than our work — we are human beings worthy of our own care and attention.

¹Laura van Dernoot with Connie Burk, Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others 47-113.

If you are interested in learning more about secondary trauma, self-care, and a short mindfulness practice, click here. I am deeply grateful to Professor Lozada — director of Well-Being in Law and Professor of Legal Skills & Values at FIU Law — for generously sharing her time, insights on secondary trauma, and the benefits of mindfulness in the legal profession. She can be reached at rolozada@fiu.edu.

Scott Rogers

Scott Rogers, M.S., J.D., is a nationally recognized leader in the area of mindfulness in law and founded and directs the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program where he teaches mindful ethics, mindful leadership, mindfulness and negotiation, and mindfulness in law. He is the creator of Jurisight, one of the first CLE programs in the country to integrate mindfulness and neuroscience and conducts workshops and presentations on the role of mindfulness in legal education and across the legal profession. He is author of the recently released, The Mindful Law Student: A Mindfulness in Law Practice Guide, written for all audiences.

Scott Rogers, Florida Bar News (2025, April 23)  https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/mindfulness-and-secondary-trauma/