The University of Texas School of Law Invests in Wellness

By chriStopher Sokol

Afull-time mental health professional, therapy dogs, massage chairs, cardio dance, a visit from the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP), yoga in the courtroom, gratitude cards, a petting zoo, intramural sports, healthy snacks, a wellness room, and a magically self-filling bowl of candy.

If this doesn’t sound like your law school experience, it’s because it’s not. It’s the robust list of offerings from the University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law). With stress levels at an all-time high, Texas Law has invested time and resources into helping students learn not only the law, but how to live a healthy, balanced life.

Our goal is that students leave Texas Law equipped for whatever comes next, and while petting a hedgehog or learning a dance routine to Cardi B might not be the traditional approach, we want to make sure our students take breaks to combine their studies with healthy stress relief techniques.

Endnotes

Sokol is the assistant director of student affairs at the University of Texas School of Law.

Christopher

1. AM. BAR ASSN, SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL HEALTH TOOLKIT FOR LAW SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT THEM 8 (3d ed. 2020), https:// docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-2gorCHI4HhwBzihKJI4KR79d0e-AdHicUuX5xXKTo/ edit. The task force is a collaboration of the ABA Law Student Division and the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. Id.

2. Id. (citing the 2016 Survey of Law Student Well-Being).

3. Many thanks to Sondra Tennessee, UHLC’s Associate Dean of Alumni and Community Relations, for providing a tour of the new building; Carrie A. Criado, UHLC’s Assistant Dean, Communications and Marketing, for providing information about the amenities available in the new building; and Erin Dickson, UHLC’s Director of Student Advisement, for answering questions about wellness initiatives and programming at UHLC.

4. Email from Carrie Criado, Ass’t Dean, Commc’ns & Mktg., Univ. Hous. L. Ctr., to Anna Archer (Nov. 21, 2022) (on file with author).

5. Id

6. See UH Law Center Hosts Annual Mental Health Week to Encourage Student Wellness, UNIV. HOUS. L. CTR. (Oct. 22, 2019), https://www.law.uh.edu/news/fall2019/1022Mental.asp.

7. Email from Erin Dickson, Dir. Student Advisement, Univ. Hous. L. Ctr., to Anna Archer (Dec. 6, 2022) (on file with author).

8. Id

9. E.g., Melanie Greaver Cordova, Spending Time in Nature Reduces Stress, Research Finds, CORNELL CHRON. (Feb. 25, 2020), https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/02/spendingtime-nature-reduces-stress-research-finds (noting research that “found that as little as 10 minutes in a natural setting can help college students feel happier and lessen the effects of both physical and mental stress”).

10. Email from Erin Dickson, supra note 7.

11. Id. More information about Professor Hoffman’s wellness initiatives and a short mindfulness activity is available for Houston lawyers on the September/October episode of Behind the Lines: The Houston Lawyer Podcast.

12. Id

13. Admissions, T. MARSHALL SCH. L., http://www.tsulaw.edu/admissions/index.html (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

14. Victor A. Flores, Officer, I Wasn’t Going That Fast, 82 TEX. B. J. 638 (2019). Victor Flores served in the Marine Corps, is an Iraq War veteran, practices government law in Plano, Texas, and served as the 2019−2020 Texas Young Lawyers Association President.

15. See NWI’s Six Dimensions of Wellness, NAT. WELLNESS INST., https://nationalwellness.org/ resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2023).

16. Professional Development Program, BAYLOR UNIV., https://www.baylor.edu/law/currentstudents/index.php?id=933502 (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

17. ANGELA DUCKWORTH, GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE (Scribner 2018) (2016).

18. CAROL DWECK, MINDSET: THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS (2006).

19. Larry Richards, Building Lawyer Resilience, LAWYER BRAIN, http://www.lawyerbrain. com/our-services/building-lawyer-resilience (last visited Feb. 6, 2023).

20. Baylor Counseling Center, BAYLOR UNIV., https://www.baylor.edu/counseling_center/ (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

21. Baylor Health Services, BAYLOR UNIV., https://www.baylor.edu/healthservices/index.php (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

22. FitWell, BAYLOR UNIV., https://www.baylor.edu/wellness/index.php?id=929285 (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

23. Baylor Telehealth by AcademicLiveCare, BAYLOR UNIV., https://baylor.academiclivecare. com/ (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

24. Care Team, BAYLOR UNIV., https://shw.web.baylor.edu/our-partners/care-team (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).

By Jonny havenS

SMaLL LaW, Big TiMe: