Transcript Reflective Practice as a Tool for Addressing High Levels of Psychological Distress in Australian Law Schools and the Legal Profession Rachael Field: Senior Lecturer (QUT)

Reflective Practice as a Tool for
Addressing High Levels of
Psychological Distress in Australian
Law Schools and the Legal Profession
Rachael Field:
Senior Lecturer (QUT) and ALTC Fellow
James Duffy: Lecturer (QUT)
Outline
• This paper discusses:
– The need for law schools to use curriculum as a site
for positive interventions to support student
psychological well-being.
– The potential for law school interventions to impact on
the psychological well-being of the profession.
– Reflective practice as a possible tool for promoting
psychological well-being in law school and the
profession because it provides a way of coping with
‘indeterminate zones’ of experience.
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A disturbing snapshot
• The Brain and Mind Research Institute surveyed 741 law
students studying at 13 Australian law schools.
• 13.3% of people aged 18-34 in the general population
suffer from psychological distress.
• 17.8% of medical students suffer from psychological
distress.
• 35.2% of law students suffer from psychological distress.
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Cross sectional empirical studies
• First, the incidence of psychological distress in law students is
uncomfortably high.
• Second, we cannot identify with precision the exact factors that are
causing this psychological distress.
• Third, cross sectional studies (by themselves) cannot tell us whether
it is law school that is creating these levels of psychological distress,
or whether prospective law students already possess these
attributes.
• Fourth, if law school is somehow causing or contributing to this
psychological distress, cross sectional studies (by themselves)
cannot tell us when in the law degree psychological distress is most
likely to occur.
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Longitudinal empirical studies
• There are no significant psychological differences between law
students and the general population before they begin law school.
• Symptoms of psychological distress appear soon after law school
begins with negative affect and depression being more prevalent at
the end of first year, compared to the beginning of the year.
• Worryingly, the more advanced US empirical research suggests that
symptomology of psychological distress in law students does not
significantly decrease throughout the law degree or into the first few
years of legal practice.
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Field’s ALTC Fellowship
The aims of the Fellowship are to:
– stimulate advancement in the legal curriculum, its
pedagogy, and assessment practice to better
engage, motivate and support student learning of
law, focussing on the potential of non-adversarial
legal practice.
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ALTC Fellowship
• The Fellowship’s program of activities include
approaches that try to:
• 1. Raise awareness in the legal academy of the
importance of law student psychological health.
• 2. Persuade the legal academy to accept the need for
strategic change in legal education, and the efficacy of
the proposed approaches for achieving that change.
• 3. Model good curriculum and assessment practice that
engages, motivates and supports students.
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Benefits of learning reflective practice
• Reflective practice:
• Provides students with a way of managing
‘indeterminate zones’ - Schon.
• Supports life-long learning and resilience skills.
• Assists students with self-management and with selfdirection.
• Enhances student ability to process feedback
constructively.
• Bolsters self-efficacy and confidence.
• Contributes to a positive professional identity.
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A tested framework for teaching
reflective practice at law school
• Developed by McNamara, Field and Cuffe, and
McNamara, Field and Brown.
• This framework involves four steps:
– first, explicitly teaching reflective practice skills;
– second, creating structures and protocols to help
students to reflect;
– third, using criterion referenced assessment to
enhance the design of reflective activities, and
– fourth, providing feedback on the students’
reflections.
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A tested model of reflective practice for
law schools
• The 4R’s method of reflective practice has been
developed by Mary Ryan and Michael Ryan at
QUT as part of the ALTC DRAW project.
• R – Reporting and responding
• R – Relating
• R – Reasoning
• R – Reconstructing.
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Some student responses from QUT’s
Lawyering and Dispute Resolution
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I believe that the material learnt in the subject will be very helpful to me in my future
studies and into practice; especially the material on positive professional identity.
This subject brings to the attention of law students the realities of practice. I think that
by planting the seeds at university, a better understanding of practice will follow. I
have always believed in a work life balance and really began to doubt that this was
possible with law. I now think that in the future it will be, or even is right now if I find
the right practice.
I loved the experience of doing something else other than applying the black and
white of law.
The discussion on positive professional identity and resilience were so helpful. I've
struggled with these issues in first year and have now been taught how to deal with
them in a more positive perspective.
I personally learnt a lot about myself as the subject’s assessment required a degree
of self analysis. The reflective assignment was a personal challenge and took me out
of my comfort zone. However, it was a very worthwhile exercise.
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Conclusion
• Reflective practice should be incorporated into
legal education in Australia and internationally in
order to equip students and practitioners of law
with a critical coping skill.
• Intentional and strategic curriculum design is
necessary to achieve this.
• Including reflective practice in legal education is
highly achievable and will be well-received by
students.
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Thank you!
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