Associate Dean for Student Services Eric W. Shannon’s article, “In-House Counsel(or): The Case for Providing Integrated Mental Health Support Services to Law Students,” has been published in the University of Alabama Law’s Journal of the Legal Profession. In it, he argues for adoption of integrated (on-staff) mental health support at law schools nationwide to support student well-being and promote professional identity development. He has posted about the publication on LinkedIn here.

Here is the article’s abstract:

While some American law schools currently provide onsite mental health support services to their student populations, many still do not. This essay is the first to argue that all law schools should provide onsite mental health support services to their students—ideally, by way of a mental health professional integrated within the law school’s staff (an “integrated mental health professional,” or “IMHP”) who is familiar not only with the unique pressures of law school generally, but also with the school-specific environment. It explores current data on law student well-being as well as external considerations including ABA recommendations and standards for law schools related to mental health and wellness; the trend at law schools nationwide toward adopting IMHPs; and the risk of legal liability that can be mitigated by having an IMHP. It then describes the unique student support benefits yielded by adoption of the IMHP model. It concludes with recommendations for student affairs professionals at law schools that are unable to create an IMHP position.