I need help
Barristers inherently face very specific challenges on a daily basis. If you need some help click on support to find contact details and advice on seeking support.
The professional lives of clerks and chambers’ staff include many potential stressors. If you don’t know how to broach an issue, want advice on your options.
These resources have been designed specifically for those who have completed their BPTC and for pupils up to tenancy.
Resources
Guidance on how to introduce wellbeing policies and initiatives and on tackling a wellbeing issue in chambers.
Examples of successful wellbeing initiatives adopted by chambers, Specialist Bar Associations and the Inns of Court.
Support
Who to talk to, how to get help in coping with the pressures and demands of life at the Bar.
Who to talk to and how to get help, resources are for clerks and staff themselves.
Support for students and pupils
Who to talk to and how to get help for those who have completed their BPTC and for pupils up to tenancy.
The confidential 24/7 helpline with access to counselling for barristers, clerks and chambers’ staff.
Search
Find help for a symptom or support information:
Common problems, support and information
BullyingBullying
“My supervisor expects me to work late at night and has told me my chances of tenancy will be affected if I don’t. They have a reputation with other members of chambers as being difficult.”
Dealing with Bereavement
Grief is a normal part of life, but when it hits, it affects all individuals differently.
Eating disorders
Food may be used as a control mechanism in a life that has become hectic, unhappy or out of control in some way.
Financial stress
Dealing with the financial stress of student debt, the cost of living and tax.
Losing sleep
Over 30% of the British population experience sleep issues including insomnia and sleep apnoea.
Low mood and depression
Difficult events and experiences can leave us in low spirits or cause depression.
Mistake at work
“I think I made a mistake that may cost me my tenancy!”
Overwhelmed by work
“I can’t cope with how much work I have to do”
Panic attacks
‘I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I just wanted to get out, to go somewhere else, but I couldn’t because I was on a train’
Perfectionism
“Pupillage feels like a year-long exam, and I am under increasing pressure to perfect my work”
Performance anxiety
“I’m petrified about my next interview/hearing and I have no idea how I am going to cope.”
Self-harm
Self-harm is defined as ‘when somebody intentionally damages or injures their body. It’s usually a way of coping with or expressing overwhelming emotional distress’.
Stress
When stress becomes normality without recovery time or respite, we become unwell or experience negative health effects.
Substance abuse
Quick thinking and intellectual capacity is a vital strength in the legal profession and can be significantly damaged by substance abuse.
The information and resource packs above are designed to help you during a very specific period in your training to become a barrister. If you want to provide feedback on these resources, or to get involved in promoting wellbeing amongst those in a similar position to yourself please get in touch.
Training to become a barrister is pressured and demanding. Intensive competition for limited pupillages (and when in pupillage for tenancy or employment) can make collegiate relationships difficult. This website aims to provide you with the knowledge to manage those stressors, make emotionally informed, wise decisions and hopefully thrive in your chosen profession.
A simple expression that sums up wellbeing is ‘travelling well’
1 in 3 barristers find it difficult to control or stop worrying