It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic added to the woes of an already ailing worldwide socio-economic system. The effects of the pandemic are felt till today, more so in the economy. The legal profession has not been exempt from the economic effects of the pandemic.
In this current issue, Senior Lecturer and Research Psychologist, Kyle Bester; and Associate Professor, Nombulelo Mabeka, write that: ‘The World Bank states “Weak structural growth and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated socio-economic challenges. South Africa has recovered its pre-pandemic GDP but not its employment level” (The World Bank ‘The World Bank in South Africa’ (www.worldbank.org, accessed on 12- 10-2023)). The World Bank further states that “poverty was an estimated 62,6% in 2022 based on the upper-middle-income country poverty line” (The World Bank (op cit)).’
The topic of mental wellness in the legal profession is an ongoing discussion in the legal fraternity and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for mechanisms to assist legal practitioners feeling overwhelmed, dealing with anxiety, fear and even resilience fatigue. The LSSA has collaborated with PPS and the Reality Wellness Group to offer telephonic counselling and support.
The professional telephonic counselling service is available 24/7/365. It consists of:
Contact the Reality Wellness Group at: 080 11 22 550 or eppengage@realitywellness.co.za (Please provide your practice number). The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) obtains and shares no data with the Reality Wellness Group. The only information shared is the number of people who use Reality Wellness Group’s service.
When you contact Reality Wellness Group you are subject to the terms and conditions of Reality Wellness and the services that they provide. Below is a table of services on offer:
LSSA services |
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Call centre management |
Twenty-four-hour trauma call centre offers personalised assistance to members and immediate family of members – 24/7/365 toll-free number. |
Telephonic counselling |
Twenty-four-hour trauma call centre offers personalised assistance to employees and immediate family members – unlimited telephonic inbound and outgoing. |
Please Call Me service |
Twenty-four-hour trauma call centre offers personalised assistance to employees and immediate family members – unlimited please call me service. |
Financial guidance |
Unlimited telephonic advice on finance matters, budgeting, debt management and debt counselling. |
Healthcare, HIV, and high risk |
Nurses carry out follow up calls and share reminders, letting them know that someone cares and is checking in. This includes ongoing telephonic counselling and support, as well as assistance with registering onto treatment programmes. |
COVID-19 support |
All members and their families will be assisted with COVID-19 related queries and counselling, as well as referrals to the nearest testing locations. |
Would you like to write for De Rebus?De Rebus welcomes article contributions from legal practitioners. Practitioners and others who wish to submit feature articles, practice notes, case notes, opinion pieces and letters can e-mail their contributions to derebus@derebus.org.za. The decision on whether to publish a particular submission is that of the De Rebus Editorial Committee, whose decision is final. In general, contributions should be useful or of interest to practising attorneys and must be original and not published elsewhere. For more information, see the ‘Guidelines for articles in De Rebus’ on our website (www.derebus.org.za).
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This article was first published in De Rebus in 2024 (May) DR 3.
