Law Times

Law Times • February 29, 2016 Page 7 www.lawtimesnews.com Can I help a colleague with depression? I n the course of our careers, co-worker relationships can become some of the closest connections we may have in life. We get to know our co-workers, often on a quite personal level, when we work closely with them. In many cases, we may spend more time with them than we do with our own families. And, sometimes, we may notice that things are off with a colleague. We sense that something may be going on, but we're not sure if we're misreading the situation or if it is our place to say or do anything. The onset of depression may be something we suspect but that we may not know if or how to approach. Statistically, one in four women and one in 10 men can expect to develop depression at some point in their lives. These statistics are based on those who self-report. In ac- tuality, men are likely just as susceptible as women are to depression, but men are of- ten more loathe to name, accept, or admit their feelings, preferring instead to "act like a man" and "suck it up." Four in 10 Canadi- ans report that someone close to them has been formally diagnosed with depression. Legal professionals have been observed to have measurably higher rates of depres- sion than members of the general pub- lic, with some estimates being as high as four times the rate of depression in non- lawyers. Rates of suicide are also higher for lawyers. Lawyers have been described as having certain personality traits that serve as obstacles to reaching out for help. They are often self-starters, perfection- ists, and extremely self-judgmental. They generally assume that their colleagues are high functioning and impervious to depression (or other mental health con- ditions), leaving those individuals feeling ashamed of their own inability to func- tion. They isolate. As such, as a colleague of such a person, it can be that much more difficult to help the person who avoids sharing or ask- ing for support. Depression is a very treatable illness. It is esti- mated that approximately 80 per cent of people with depression can recover and feel better, with a reduc- tion in symptoms, if they receive appropriate treat- ment. As well, clinical de- pression can be identified by the presence of certain symptoms. Individuals with clinical depression exhibit signifi- cant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of their lives. Interestingly, symptoms of grief are similar to those found with de- pression, but grief is a healthy response to loss, albeit a painful one. An individual who has had five or more of the following changes to her previous functioning for a period of two weeks or longer may be clinically depressed. Here are the symptoms to look for: 1. Depressed mood: The person feels sad and morose and can be tearful. The person feels empty and unfulfilled but does not know how to get meaning back into his life. 2. Diminished interest and pleasure: The person just does not seem to care about anything anymore — even topics or events that used to give them pleasure. Nothing at all excites the depressed per- son. 3. Weight gain or loss: Significant weight changes (more than 5% in a month) are evident when a person is not dieting or trying to gain weight. The person either cannot get enough to eat or is never hun- gry and does not eat at all. 4. Insomnia or hypersomnia: The per- son either sleeps very little or much more than is nor- mal for that person. 5. Agitation or low en- ergy: The person either cannot sit still or, on the f lip side, cannot get the energy up to even want to move. Even with agitation, the person will usually feel tired with little energy. 6. Feelings of worthless- ness or excessive or inap- propriate guilt: The person is unduly self-critical even when work quality is perfectly acceptable. The person judges herself by an unrealistic set of unachievable standards. 7. Diminished ability to think or con- centrate or indecisiveness: The person takes longer than usual to think things through. He seems out of sorts. He is often ambivalent or unable to make decisions. 8. Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, a suicide attempt, or a specific plan for suicide: The person will say things like "Everyone would be better off if I were dead" or "I can't go on like this" or "It will all be over soon" or "I wish I were dead." The most telling sign is a suicide attempt. These symptoms may seem quite daunting, and they can be, even to seasoned mental health professionals. Here are some suggestions for what to do or say to someone you think may be depressed: 1. Listen without judgment: Let the per- son talk without trying to push the conver- sation. Let there be gaps in the discussion, if necessary. Let the depressed person set the pace and be willing to go at her speed. Simple, non-judgmental listening can have profound therapeutic effects. 2. Don't say patronizing things such as: "You'll feel better tomorrow" or "No big deal" or "Buck up." 3. Do say things such as: "What can I do to help?" or "Is there anything I can do?" 4. If you're able, help make his work- load more appropriate to his condition by reducing or refocusing his energies to manageable or successful tasks. 5. If she is seeing a doctor, offer to take her to just be with her. 6. Try to talk about the things that used to excite them: Engage them on subjects you know are of interest or passion to them. Keep it light. 7. If the behaviour or comments are of a suicidal nature, directly ask the person if she is considering taking her own life. If the answer is yes, seek immediate medical attention for the person even if that means taking her to the emergency department of the hospital or calling 911. As well, each province has a lawyer as- sistance program created specifically to help in these situations. Here in Ontario, the Member Assistance Program (www. myassistplan.com) offers a 24/7 crisis line, free, confidential counselling, and peer support. And in many cases, simply by of- fering your friendship and acceptance, you can serve as the key to helping someone get help. One-to-one non-judgmental presence is often even more effective than medical interventions. If you see something, say something. LT uDoron Gold is a registered social worker who's also a former practising lawyer. He works with lawyers and law students in his role as a staff clinician and presenter with the Member Assist- ance Program as well as with mem- bers of the general public in his private psychotherapy practice. He's available at dorongold.com. COMMENT The Lawyer Therapist Doron Gold Ontario needs human trafficking legislation BY LAURIE SCOTT L ast December's report from the Ontario Legislature's Select Committee on Sexual Violence and Workplace Harassment iden- tified the province as a major hub for hu- man trafficking. Through the testimony of experts and survivors, the committee learned that 90 per cent of sex trafficking victims, predominantly female, are Canadian born. They come from communities across Ontario, from every cultural and socio-economic back- ground. They are the girls next door. Ontario's current legislation is inadequate to combat human trafficking. While recent amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada created new offences for the trafficking of persons, there is an ongoing need for provincial laws to support or supplement the criminal court process. That court process can provide some protection for victims through no-contact provisions in bail and probation orders. Victims are also able to pursue remedies through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and other victim support services. A problem arises, however, when proceeding with criminal charges is not in the best interests of the victim or simply is not possible. This is especially true for victims of human trafficking, as the criminal court process is often detrimental to a survivor's mental health and recovery. In instances where it is not advisable or possible to proceed criminally, there must be other legal avenues to protect survivors and assist them to recovery. As it stands, Ontario has no legislation that applies specifical- ly to survivors of sex trafficking. The Child and Family Services Act is the only provincial legislation that would have some application to sex trafficking. The CFSA de- fines a "child" for the purpose of child protection orders as a person under the age of 16. Victim support groups and police report that the average age of trafficking vic- tims is about 14, and certainly the CFSA is there to pro- tect minors who are being sold for sex. The glaring gap in Ontario is for those victims who are 16 years of age and older. I have heard from police officers who encounter young women over the age of 16 whom they strongly suspect are being trafficked for sex by manipulative and controlling pimps. I have heard testimony before a legislative committee of parents who are desperately searching for their "adult" children whom they believe are being sold for sex by pimps who originally posed as their daughters' "boyfriends." There is no legal mechanism currently in place for victims' services, police, or parents to rescue an adult traffick- ing victim from the grips of her trafficker and keep him away from her. As one survivor said, "No 16-year-old consents to being a prostitute." Additionally, the CFSA was never designed to ad- dress sex trafficking. It is first and foremost intended to protect children who are being abused in a domes- tic situation by a family member or a person who lives with them. It does not anticipate the circumstances of trafficking victims, who are groomed and manipulated by non-family members — usually men who act as their "boyfriends." Trapped by violence and sometimes ad- dicted to drugs, victims are frequently held captive in hotels and motels far away from home. Manitoba is the only province in Canada to enact legislation specifically designed to protect victims of sex trafficking. Of note, Alberta's Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act, (2000), which is primarily aimed at ending child exploitation, allows the director of Protection of Children in Prostitu- tion to obtain an order apprehending the victim and taking her or him back home or to a safe house. Most importantly, Alberta's legislation extends the protection to persons under the age of 19. Manitoba's legislation allows child protection agen- cies, parents of children under 18, or a victim over the age of 18 to apply for a protection order that is then served on the trafficker. The ex parte order contains specific non-contact provisions that remain in place for a minimum of three years with stiff penalties for breaches. Experts maintain that at least three years is required for a victim to begin to heal and sever the psy- chological ties with her trafficker. Manitoba also created the tort of human trafficking, allowing survivors to sue their traffickers for compensation and an accounting of profits without having to prove damages. Manitoba is rightly heralded by experts as a pioneer for its multi- disciplinary and survivor-centric approach to combat- ing sex trafficking. Without specific Ontario legislation to address hu- man trafficking, there are few avenues to rescue and protect victims who fall outside the purview of the CFSA. Now seen as a major hub for sex trafficking, it is appalling for Ontario to lag so far behind other prov- inces in protecting the girl next door from this form of modern-day slavery. LT u Laurie Scott is the MP for the riding of Halibur- ton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock and serves as the Ontario PC critic for women's issues. u SPEAKER'S CORNER

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