Vocational Rehabilitation Case Study

We worked with a Lawyer, Simon*, who had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

Simon was 42 years old with a wife and children. He was a senior partner in a law firm and was highly successful in his job. He was also extremely anxious about failing or not succeeding in some way. Although Simon didn’t want to practice law anymore, he didn’t know what else he could do and this was playing on his mind and affecting his performance at work. Simon was finding it extremely stressful and he had begun to avoid taking on certain types of cases.

When he came to us, Simon was no longer sleeping, he would spend his nights awake, he had started developing unhealthy coping strategies and felt that his world was crumbling around him.

Want to know more about vocational rehabilitation? Read our previous blog here. 

Assessment

We took the time to identify the primary issues and barriers. We explored what was needed to be put in place to overcome or minimise those barriers and enable Simon to succeed again.

Intervention

We worked together over a six month period. Meeting virtually on Zoom. Our aim and focus was on supporting him to re-engage with the tasks and activities he was finding challenging.  As time went by, our contact with him was reduced gradually in a planned way.  Simon became more confident in drawing on his own personal resources again.

We also looked at adapting and changing the way Simon undertook tasks relating to work. We helped him to restore some of the personal strategies that had worked for him in the past.  We suggested ways of modifying his environment and routines to help with sleep.  So, we looked at all aspects of Simon as an individual and the world in which he needed to function.

Outcome

The outcome was that Simon resumed practising law. His sleep had returned to a healthy pattern and family life was satisfying and enjoyable. He had learnt how to be selective about the cases he took on. He was able to recognise that it was his choice to do so and he was not incompetent or a failure for exercising this choice.

His comment to us at the end of our time together was “this is the first time that I actually feel successful.”

*Simon is a real former client, but to preserve confidentiality all identifiable factors have been changed.