Krista Larson, Stinson LLP

Law firms have begun to recognize that attorneys face the same kind of mental health issues as others working in high-pressure professions.

Stinson LLP Director of Well-Being Krista Larson assists attorneys and their staff in connecting to resources when they face mental health issues. In 2019, Stinson signed the American Bar Association’s well-being pledge for legal employers, she said, and her job focuses on fulfilling it.

“Our commitment to that pledge requires our firm to take action on things like providing mental health education, having supportive organizational policies, confidential access to useful, well-being resources,” she said. “Part of my job is making sure that Stinson maintains its commitment.”

Larson leads the firm’s Well-Being Committee and trains others, especially internal leaders, on how to identify warning signs in employees with challenges. Leaders can then have a check-in conversation and recommend resources they can access depending on their circumstances.

Persuading lawyers that they might benefit from professional support can be tough, especially since it could threaten their sense of competence. Larson educates employees through her self-produced “Well-Being Bite” presentations, a Parental Leave Mentorship Program and many custom workshops.

“A lot of the work the Well-Being Committee and I do is to combat that stigma so that people feel more comfortable and confident in reaching out when they need to,” she said.

While earning her undergraduate psychology degree at Wellesley College, Larson became a disciple of “positive psychology” after spending a semester abroad in Denmark, one of the world’s happiest countries.

She earned a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania in positive psychology, and she still does pro bono work for the school. Stinson promotes pro bono contributions for good reason. “The work that attorneys get to do with pro bono is very supportive of their professional well-being and the meaning and purpose that they feel in their chosen profession,” she said.