Why should I see a psychiatrist who used to practice law?

Because I won't waste your time explaining what a billable hour does to a person. Before medical school, I practiced at an elite law firm. I understand the incentive structures, the professional identity questions, and the specific reasons you've probably put off making this call. I left that career deliberately, trained in psychiatry at Harvard, and now hold a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School. I bring both degrees into the room with every patient. Most mental health professionals will listen to you describe your work and then suggest you set better boundaries. That's not wrong, exactly, but it misses the structural reality: legal practice rewards perfectionism, penalizes vulnerability, and treats exhaustion as a credential. You don't need to educate me on your world. We can get to work.

Will seeking psychiatric treatment affect my bar standing or my career?

This is the question I hear most from attorneys. The direct answer: seeking treatment is not the problem. Avoiding treatment when you need it is. Most state bars (including Massachusetts) have moved away from broad mental health inquiries in character and fitness evaluations. The ABA has been explicit that untreated conditions pose a greater professional risk than treated ones. I'm happy to discuss the specifics of your jurisdiction during a consultation. Your treatment is private. I am bound by strict physician confidentiality protections and do not report to your firm, your bar association, or anyone else.

I'm functioning fine at work. Do I actually need this?

Maybe not. But "functioning fine" is a term I've learned to listen to carefully. Many of the attorneys I see are, by every external metric, doing well: making partner, winning cases, earning respect. They come in because the internal cost of maintaining that performance has become unsustainable. The sleep that never quite comes. The irritability that's eroding a marriage. The Sunday dread that starts earlier every week. High-functioning depression is still depression. And the attorneys who come in before it gets bad are the ones who get the most out of treatment, because they still have choices, energy, and relationships to protect.

What does treatment actually involve? I don't have time for something open-ended.

I respect that, and I structure treatment accordingly. I'm one of a very small number of psychiatrists who provide both medication management and psychotherapy in an integrated practice. That means one clinician who understands the full picture (your history, your neurochemistry, the actual texture of your daily life) rather than splitting your care between a prescriber you see for fifteen minutes and a therapist who doesn't know what the prescriber is doing. Sessions are 25 to 60 minutes depending on your needs. We'll set goals together. Some patients need targeted, time-limited work; others want ongoing therapy with someone who won't tell them to quit their job (because that isn't the answer for most people, and we both know it). I'm active, direct, and honest when something isn't working.

I'm not in Boston. Can I still see you?

Yes. I see patients both in-person and virtually in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton, and throughout all of Massachusetts. My Downtown office is easily accessible from the Financial District, Seaport, and Back Bay. Many of the lawyers I work with prefer telehealth. It fits more cleanly into a demanding schedule, eliminates the commute, and can be done from a private office between meetings. In my clinical experience, virtual sessions are every bit as effective as in-person work for the conditions I treat most often (depression, anxiety, panic, and burnout). But if you prefer to be in the room, I have in-person availability as well.

How do I know if now is the right time to reach out?

The professionals who wait until they're in crisis have fewer options and a harder path back. The ones who reach out when they first sense something is off tend to respond faster, recover more fully, and build something they can sustain. If you're reading this page, some part of you is already doing the assessment. That's a good instinct. But this isn't a motion you can research indefinitely. I offer consultations for exactly this reason: a conversation between two people (one of whom happens to have practiced law and now practices psychiatry) about what's going on and what might be worth trying. Reach out through the contact form on this site, or call the office directly.

Mental Health for Lawyers in Massachusetts

Attorneys experience depression at roughly three to four times the rate of the general population, with anxiety, burnout, and problematic drinking similarly elevated across the profession. Massachusetts lawyers have access to confidential resources including Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL) and the SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, as well as psychiatrists who specialize in treating legal professionals.

I understand that cost in a way most psychiatrists don't, because I practiced law before I practiced medicine. I've sat where you're sitting and worked inside a culture that treats asking for help as a kind of weakness. If you've been thinking about reaching out but haven't yet, the questions below are a good place to start.

Because I won't waste your time explaining what a billable hour does to a person.
Before medical school, I practiced at an elite law firm. I understand the incentive structures, the professional identity questions, and the specific reasons you've probably put off making this call. I left that career deliberately, trained in psychiatry at Harvard, and now hold a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School. I bring both degrees into the room with every patient.
Most mental health professionals will listen to you describe your work and then suggest you set better boundaries. That's not wrong, exactly, but it misses the structural reality: legal practice rewards perfectionism, penalizes vulnerability, and treats exhaustion as a credential. You don't need to educate me on your world.
We can get to work.
This is the question I hear most from attorneys. The direct answer: seeking treatment is not the problem. Avoiding treatment when you need it is.
Most state bars (including Massachusetts) have moved away from broad mental health inquiries in character and fitness evaluations. The ABA has been explicit that untreated conditions pose a greater professional risk than treated ones. I'm happy to discuss the specifics of your jurisdiction during a consultation.
Your treatment is private. I am bound by strict physician confidentiality protections and do not report to your firm, your bar association, or anyone else.
Maybe not. But "functioning fine" is a term I've learned to listen to carefully.
Many of the attorneys I see are, by every external metric, doing well: making partner, winning cases, earning respect. They come in because the internal cost of maintaining that performance has become unsustainable. The sleep that never quite comes. The irritability that's eroding a marriage. The Sunday dread that starts earlier every week.
High-functioning depression is still depression. And the attorneys who come in before it gets bad are the ones who get the most out of treatment, because they still have choices, energy, and relationships to protect.

I respect that, and I structure treatment accordingly.
I'm one of a very small number of psychiatrists who provide both medication management and psychotherapy in an integrated practice. That means one clinician who understands the full picture (your history, your neurochemistry, the actual texture of your daily life) rather than splitting your care between a prescriber you see for fifteen minutes and a therapist who doesn't know what the prescriber is doing.
Sessions are 25 to 60 minutes depending on your needs. We'll set goals together. Some patients need targeted, time-limited work; others want ongoing therapy with someone who won't tell them to quit their job (because that isn't the answer for most people, and we both know it). I'm active, direct, and honest when something isn't working.
Yes. I see patients both in-person and virtually in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton, and throughout all of Massachusetts. My Downtown office is easily accessible from the Financial District, Seaport, and Back Bay.
Many of the lawyers I work with prefer telehealth. It fits more cleanly into a demanding schedule, eliminates the commute, and can be done from a private office between meetings. In my clinical experience, virtual sessions are every bit as effective as in-person work for the conditions I treat most often (depression, anxiety, and burnout). But if you prefer to be in the room, I have in-person availability as well.
Certain conditions calling for exposure work may be more effective in-person but can be done virtually if needed.
The professionals who wait until they're in crisis have fewer options and a harder path back. The ones who reach out when they first sense something is off tend to respond faster, recover more fully, and build something they can sustain.
If you're reading this page, some part of you is already doing the assessment. That's a good instinct. But this isn't a motion you can research indefinitely. I offer consultations for exactly this reason: a conversation between two people (one of whom happens to have practiced law and now practices psychiatry) about what's going on and what might be worth trying.
Email me at info@thejeongcenter.com to set up a time to chat (free of charge).

Resources for Legal Professionals

Whether or not you choose to work with a psychiatrist, these organizations offer confidential support, peer community, and practical resources for attorneys, judges, and law students navigating mental health and well-being.

Massachusetts

Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL)

lclma.org

Massachusetts' sole lawyer assistance program. Offers free, confidential counseling, peer support groups, and referrals for attorneys, judges, and law students dealing with mental health concerns, substance use, or career difficulties. LCL also runs a weekly ADHD support group specifically for legal professionals. Services are protected by the same confidentiality rules as attorney-client communications (Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.6(d)) and funded through bar dues.

617-482-9600

SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being

lawyerwellbeingma.org

Established by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to improve well-being across the legal profession statewide. Hosts the Legal Well-Being Network, publishes research on Massachusetts lawyers' mental health, and maintains a curated directory of resources for anxiety, depression, substance use, and burnout.

Massachusetts Bar Association — Lawyer Well-Being

massbar.org

The MBA's Lawyer Well-Being Committee curates resources on stress, anxiety, depression, and substance use, and publishes the "Fighting Stigma" series featuring first-person accounts from Massachusetts attorneys about their experiences with mental health conditions.

National

ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs

americanbar.org

Oversees the national network of Lawyer Assistance Programs and maintains a state-by-state directory of confidential services for judges, lawyers, and law students facing mental health or substance use challenges. Also hosts educational resources and coordinates the profession's anti-stigma campaign.

Institute for Well-Being in Law

lawyerwellbeing.net

The successor to the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, whose 2017 report ("The Path to Lawyer Well-Being") catalyzed the profession-wide wellness movement. IWIL leads research, advocacy, and coordinates the annual Well-Being Week in Law.

ABA Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Legal Employers

americanbar.org

Practical guidance for individual attorneys and legal organizations seeking to implement well-being initiatives. Includes an eight-step action plan and a condensed summary ("80 Tips for Lawyer Thriving") with concrete strategies for managing stress, setting boundaries, and sustaining a long career.

ABA Character & Fitness Mental Health Question Tracker

americanbar.org

A state-by-state overview of how bar admissions authorities handle mental health inquiries on character and fitness applications. In 2015, the ABA urged all states to eliminate diagnosis-based questions in favor of conduct-based inquiries; Massachusetts and over 30 other states have since done so. Useful for attorneys concerned about whether seeking treatment could affect their professional standing.

Mindfulness in Law Society

mindfulnessinlawsociety.org

A national organization offering free, twice-weekly guided meditation sessions via Zoom, led by and for attorneys. Also hosts local chapters, workshops, and educational events. Endorsed by the ABA and the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being as a practical tool for managing the chronic stress of legal practice.