Session outline
This three-part wellbeing series for support staff aims to: 
- Enhance knowledge and understanding regarding psychological injuries when working in the legal profession (including burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma)
- Understand the early somatic, cognitive, emotional and behavioural warning signs to suggest emerging psychological injury
- Explore the 'window of tolerance' and self care skills - including mindfulness, self compassion and somatic resources - to be practised and used in real time and via rituals

This workshop draws upon the latest research and methodology in relation to mental health of those working in the legal profession. It also draws upon the work of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.

Session 1: Understanding Psychological Injury in the Legal Workplace
Session focus
This session introduces key concepts relating to psychological injury in the legal profession,
with a specific focus on the experiences of support staff. Participants will develop a shared language and understanding of how burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma can develop over time in high-pressure legal environments. Participants will also learn about the science of the brain and the body in relation to stress, and about the window of tolerance.

Session 1 outline

•    Overview of mental health risks in the legal profession and why support staff are particularly vulnerable
•    Defining burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma
•    Introduction to the window of tolerance and nervous system regulation
•    How exposure to distressing material, high workloads and emotionally charged interactions impact the nervous system
•    Normalising stress responses and differentiating pressure from injury
•    Brief reflective exercise to help participants identify stressors specific to their role

Key takeaways

By the end of session 1, participants will:
•    Understand key forms of psychological injury relevant to legal support roles
•    Recognise that these experiences are occupational risks, not personal weaknesses
•    Gain language to describe stress and injury in a clear, non-judgemental way
•    Feel more confident identifying when workplace stress may be becoming harmful
•    Understand the window of tolerance.

Session 2: Recognising Early Warning Signs of Psychological Injury
Session focus
This session builds on Session 1 by helping participants identify early warning signs of
psychological injury across the body, mind and behaviour. Emphasis is placed on early recognition as a protective and preventative skill.

Session 2 outline

•    Review of key concepts from Session 1
•    Exploring early somatic signs (e.g. tension, fatigue, headaches, shutdown or agitation)
•    Cognitive and emotional warning signs (e.g. rumination, irritability, emotional numbing, overwhelm)
•    Behavioural changes commonly seen in legal support roles (e.g. withdrawal, reduced boundaries, over-functioning)
•    Introduction to sensorimotor awareness as a tool for noticing early stress signals
•    Short guided awareness exercise to practise noticing internal cues

Key takeaways

By the end of session 2, participants will:
•    Be able to identify early warning signs of stress and injury across body, thoughts, emotions and behaviour
•    Understand how stress often shows up physically before cognitively
•    Feel more confident noticing changes in themselves early, rather than at crisis point
•    Appreciate the role of body-based awareness in maintaining wellbeing at work

Session 3: Real-Time Regulation Skills and Self Care Rituals
Session focus
This session focuses on practical skills for maintaining wellbeing, drawing on the the science of
mindfulness, self compassion, co-regulation, and sensorimotor techniques. Participants will learn strategies they can use both in real time at work and through simple daily rituals.

Session 3 outline

•    Recognising triggers, and the signs of hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal in the workplace
•    Practical self-care skills, including:
•    Mindfulness and grounding techniques
•    Self-compassion practices
•    Simple somatic resources for regulation and co-regulation.
•    Applying skills in real-time work situations (e.g. difficult calls, deadlines, exposure to distressing material)
•    Developing short, sustainable self-care rituals that fit legal support roles

Key takeaways

By the end of session 3, participants will:
•    Understand their own window of tolerance and how stress affects regulation
•    Understand practical, body-based strategies to support nervous system regulation at work
•    Feel more confident using self-care skills in the moment, not just outside work
•    Leave with a small set of realistic practices they can continue using beyond the workshop